Are All Students Digital Natives?

Marc Prensky’s article “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”(2001) is quite profound and thought-provoking.  He characterizes the generational differences between teachers and students by using the descriptions “digital native” and “digital immigrant”.  Growing up in a world of connectivity and technology, students are considered digital natives.  Their teachers, who have not grown up in this type of environment, are called digital immigrants.  Prensky argues that today’s learners think  differently because their experiences have been unique from those of their teachers.  Therefore, he posits, there is a need for teachers to adapt their methods to enter the worlds of their digital natives.  This will involve learning from their students as they go.  Ultimately, Prensky calls for a shift in the paradigm of a learner that requires teachers to make great strides towards meeting these students where their learning needs are now at.  This will involve learning the language of technology and becoming fluent in its applications.  It seems like the educational system is on the cusp of a transformation in this sense.  However, as I pondered these possibilities, I began to wonder if this shift is representative of the nation at large or of the middle to upper class children who have access to abundant amounts of technology.  Is this technology movement true for all students or will this transformational shift leave some children behind?

Technology isn’t cheap and it isn’t always relevant.  Some children will grow up in hard-working households but their families may not have the resources to buy them an iPod or a computer.  These children may become “digital immigrants” just as their teachers are because unlike some of their peers they have not grown up practicing the various kinds of new technology.  There are also more rural areas of the country where technology just isn’t a cultural norm.  Children from these areas of the nation may be more removed from the technology that urban children find a part of their daily lives.  These children may also experience technology in their classrooms as "digital immigrants". 

Beneath the discussions and descriptions of this new age of technology there lies a question of whether this era is accessible to all or if it is a phenomenon of the middle and upper classes.  If so, we may need to be more careful about undertaking this shift as one that is representative of the nation at large.  The goal needs to be to making instruction meaningful to every student.  Generalizations endanger the ability of teachers to accomplish this.  Even with students whose families have had the resources to provide them with technology-rich environments have had different experiences and are familiar with different types of technology.  Therefore, I think the mission of teachers today are to be like sponges.  We need to soak in the experiences and cultures of every student, including those who are technologically savvy, and use our understanding of students to make instruction meaningful to them. 

*Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.