Digital natives and immigrants, Labelling 21st century learners

A few years ago, at a transition evening where I work, I listened intently as the Principal addressed our new generation of students as 'Digital Natives', and promised to deliver an innovative and engaging learning environment for said students. The parents seemed pleased to have such a label applied to their offspring, not really questioning it, but rather excited by the prospect of their child being a ‘digital native’. The students looked on expectantly, each one clasping a device, ready for learning and eager to embrace their 'digital native' title. How promising it all seemed to be! Prensky’s (2005) assertion that people born in the early 1980s onwards have been immersed in technology for their whole existence and as a result “think and process information fundamentally differently to their predecessors” (p.29) has a lot of contention. Coining the label “Digital Natives” (Prensky, 20015, p.29) to describe this generation of learners, who are more tech savvy, conversing in a new digital language, seeking fun and extrinsic motivation in the educational environment. “Digital Immigrants” (p.29), the label Prensky uses for all others, are depicted as “heavily accented, unintelligible foreigners” (p.30). This is a dangerous assumption to take on, as I believe it provides teachers with reasons for disengagement with Information Communication Technologies (ICT), placing them into the ‘too hard basket’, and as a result, doing a great disservice to our students. Bennett, Maton, & Kervin (2008) critically evaluated Prensky’s claims, responding that the issue is “much more complex than the digital native characterisation suggests” (2008, p.783). It is not simply a matter of being born a digital native, various factors are in play, and the “moral panic” (p.782) surrounding educational practice is not under as much threat as has been perceived (Bennett, Maton, & Kervin, 2008).

In schools today, there seems to be a divide in how to best cater for our students, how to prepare them for success in an ever changing world, and these unsubstantiated labels bring another layer of complexity, separating the educator from those receiving instruction even further. While Prensky (2005) asserts that "our students have changed radically" (p.29) and that we are failing them by continuing to teach in traditional ways, Kirshner and Bruyckere (2017) challenge that the digital native even exists, labeling this as a myth that is detrimental to “our educational system, our children and teaching/learning in general.

Fast forward to three years later, and the “Digital Natives” (Prensky, 2001, p.1) at our school are hardly interacting with their devices, with many teachers claiming that students prefer traditional methods of learning. Was Prensky right about the archaic ways of the “Digital Immigrants” (2005, p.29) – are they to be blamed for disengagement? And how then do we stimulate “digital competence – the confident and critical use of technology” (p.4,) which our students need to participate in society? (Bower, 2017).

Clearly, labeling generations of learners and educators can have both beneficial and detrimental effects. At times, it may be an efficient way to categorise learning and teaching for the benefit of the learner and the teacher, providing timely differentiation solutions in the classroom. Yet, more often than not, the labels that we apply lead to boxing-in our students, our educational practices, and ourselves. The use of labels such as digital natives and immigrants, as well as the 21st Century Learner, must be carefully considered for ICT implementation in our educational institutions, if they are to succeed and withstand time and change.

References

Bennett, S., Maton, K., & Kervin, L. (2008). The "digital natives" debate: A critical review of the evidence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(5), 775-786.

Bower, M. (2017). Design of technology-enhanced learning: integrating research and practice. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing.

Kirshner, P., & Bruyckere, P. (2017). The myths of the digital native and the multitasker. Teacher and Teacher Education, 67, 135 -142.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5). 1-8.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2: Do They Really Think Differently? On the Horizon, 9(6), 1-6.