“Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” written by Marc Prensky -- one of three articles assigned for class reading -- stood out to me for its content regarding those now referred to as Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. This article definitely challenged my limited knowledge of the subject matter. One of the remarkable things I learned was that “experiences lead to different brain structures.” I knew that with experience we gain immense knowledge but I never knew it would actually change the structures of our brain. Also in the article, Dr. Bruce states that “although we may not know if this is literally true, we can say with certainty that their thinking patterns have changed.” Another interesting point that I learned was that this group - the younger generation - has been given the name Digital Natives for they are known as a people whom speak the digital language of computers, video games, and Internet. In the opposing manner, those not born into the digital speaking world are considered Digital Immigrants.
Before reading this article, I always thought of legacy as pertaining to "a legacy one leaves" behind once they pass away. In the article, “Legacy” content includes reading, writing, arithmetic, logical thinking, understanding the writings and ideas of the past, “Future” content includes software, hardware, robotics, nanotechnology, genomics, etc. it also includes the ethics, politics, sociology, languages and other things that go with them.
It is important to keep up on technology for as it ages it changes. Perhaps, as we age we change. Which ever aspect you personally choose to attain, truth remains: there is a significant gap between Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants and we as educators need to take on the responsibility of bridging that gap.
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