If I had to choose one of the two, a digital native or a digital immigrant, I would consider myself to be a digital native. I can't remember a time when I wanted to know the answer to something and I couldn't just Google it to find my answer. I've rarely used sources other than the internet to write research papers. In fact, I don't "write" research papers. I type them. I've had a smart phone for years, and even before that I still had a mobile device. I use multiple social networking sites and I am constantly downloading new music. I use my laptop multiple times a day, and email is the easiest way to get in touch with anyone that you don't plan on just calling up. I remember feeling like I lived in a different century than everyone else when our house was the only one I could remember without caller ID on our house phone. I don't know how I learned to use Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, photo editors, etc., I just know how. If I was a digital immigrant, I would not be so used to such things and unable to recall a time before computers and smart phones.
Living in this so-called "digital generation" means that by the time I am an adult, potentially with children and students, the vast technological options will have been growing and will continue to grow substantially. And while I consider myself to be a digital immigrant, I also believe that growing up in an era where you are used to certain amenities doesn't mean you necessarily understand all your options and how to use them. There are many things I still don't understand about my phone and computer. I just used Microsoft Excel for the first time last semester (with my dad's, who would be considered a digital immigrant, help) and I still have to take my iPhone and MacBook in to the Apple store if I am having any kinds of problems because I can't always figure them out for myself. Likewise, there are many methods of teaching using technology that I have either never heard of or still don't know how to use. Consequently, if I want to succeed as an instructor in this generation, I still have a lot of learning and catching up to do, despite the fact that I would be considered a digital immigrant.
Luckily, I feel as if the problems with the divide between immigrant and native are few. Although my grandmother never has and never will even consider getting a computer because she doesn't find any of the hype to be necessary, and she still calls her cell phone (that she never uses) her "car phone", she does all of these things by choice. As I mentioned earlier, my dad understands software and computer programs that I am just now starting to use, and my dad is from the digital immigrant era. As are some of the men from the Apple store that have known far more about my devices than I probably ever will. It's a matter of choice. In my opinion, if you want to adapt to the growing field of technological devices, you will. If you don't, you won't. And that goes for any age group or social divide you might be labeled in.
- Megan Singleton
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