Digital Native?? Are They Really?? (By Andrew Churches)

The following article was posted by Andrew Churches at the following site: http://www.21stcenturyfluency.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=1746

Digital Native?? Are They Really??

The term "Digital Native" has been broadly used to describe people who, through continous immersion in technology, are neurologically different to those who have not had the same degree of exposure. For a considerable amount of time this was theory and subject to much skepticism; however, the body of research into neuroscience has provided a huge amount of supporting evidence. (See the work of Dr. Gary Small in his book iBrain, Nicholas Carr in The Shallows, Understanding the Digital Generation by Ian Jukes, Ted McCain, and Lee Crockett, and so on).

Their brains are wired differently from the generations who did not have the same degree of exposure. Similarly, your brain will adapt and change throughout your life. Age is not a barrier to learning, and experiences cause the brain to adapt.

In general the characteristics we see for this digital generation are that they are:

• highly visual and have a preference for multi-media
• information, technology, and media savvy
• able to multitask (rapid task switching) and often lack patience, wanting immediate access, feedback, and rewards
• communicators and collaborators
• producers, remixers, and creators
• advocates of transparency and fairness
• adaptive and like customising their environment to suit themselves

In the classroom, many people expect that the students walking into their learning environment are able, almost by instinct and dint of being a digital native, to use software and technology instantly, and with a degree of competence. They are surprized by the lack of skills that these “digital natives” possess. So its probably worth expanding the “technology savvy” component of the characteristics of our 21st-century learners.

They are technology-savvy, but technology is not just computers and software. Computers and software are elements of technology. Technology surrounds us and them—it's the television, media recorders, players, games consoles, gps, cell phones, remote controls, robots, and so much more that surround us. Our digital natives can manipulate and use these technologies, they are adept at using technology, and can quickly pick up the underlying concepts and processes within these.

BUT… it is dependent on what they are exposed to. The general exposure to and immersion in technologies has led to the neurological changes we see in the digital generation, but their competence (or lack of it) in a particular tool is dependent on their experiences with it.

So when our brand new students walk into the classroom at the start of the year, we must put aside the expectation/assumption that they come with a skill set on how to use computers and software. Rather, we should consider them as sponges that will quickly absorb the skills to a basic level, but that need direction, support, and critique to reach their potential.