What do they think?
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| Marc Prensky |
In an attempt to celebrate the ingenuity and technological savvy of young people, MarcPrensky popularized the term "digital native" in 2001. To him, the term meant that the ways in which students of the digital era learn are drastically different than their parents. While their parents learned in the absence of technology, these new students have digital tools and literacies that help them form deep understandings of their surroundings. Furthermore, students develop these deep understandings naturally, as if it were their native language --- or so Prensky, and predecessors, believed (Boyd, 179).
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| dana boyd |
In their work, Dana Boyd pushes back against this characterization by highlighting the misinformation that has spawned from the term "digital native". Boyd argues that this term distracts us from "understanding the challenges that youth face in a networked world" (176). I agree with Boyd's stance that, although born from good intentions, this moniker is harmful. It's yet another instance where adults characterize students in ways that ignore or discredit students' agencies.
What do I think?
While reading through Boyd's piece, I made a personal connection to her work. As an MLL educator, the majority of students I teach come from Spanish-speaking households. Because of this, I and many other educators make harmful assumptions about the students' abilities. The first assumption is that we assume a student can live up to grade-level performance if we simply translate texts into Spanish or their native language. Much like how Prensky's term ignores the "huge variation in knowledge and experience [with technology]" (176), this assumption glosses over the fact that some students never learned grammar skills in their native language, so translating materials would only further add to the stress of being unable to participate fully in a learning community. The second assumption is that not all MLL students are Spanish-speaking. When educators assume MLL = Spanish, we damage the confidences, agencies, and cultural prides of students who speak Haitian-Creole or Tagalog or any of the other 92 languages in Providence Public School District. I shared that personal connection because it shows that in more ways than one, adults cast students in lights that entirely misrepresent what the youth need to learn and succeed in their lives. For that reason, I want to push back against the term "digital native".
Hi Jett! I'm happy you brought up your personal connection between being an MLL educator and Boyd. I would love to discuss this more - I personally wish that Boyd spent more time discussing how student identities affect their relationship with technology.
ReplyDeleteHi Jett! I'm so glad you made that connection to your work with MLL students. I have thought about those assumptions many times but didn't think to connect it to this reading, but you are spot on! Adults cast students into lights that do misrepresent what our youth need to learn. I think it all goes back to assumptions. We can't make assumptions about what students can or can't do. We need to be curious about them and ask them the important questions to get to know them, their culture, and their abilities. I very much enjoyed reading your blog. Well done.
ReplyDeleteJett, I also mentioned that seeing digital exposure as a "language" is fine but exposure to language does not equate to competency. I like how you took these readings and connected them to your work with MLL students.
ReplyDeleteJett, I liked how you connected your new knowledge about a digital native and digital immigrant to your work with MLL students. I too feel compelled to push back against the term digital native. I think everyone is navigating the digital landscape and forever learning no matter who you are. ~Christine
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