Reflection : Intro Topic

Before starting the module, I considered myself as someone with fairly good digital skills, but did not appeal to being part of online communities.

Having completed the introductory topic and analysing myself in a digital self-test, I have come to realise that my digital skills are surprisingly poor for a member of the ‘Net Generation’. Although Prenksy’s ‘Digital Immigrant’ and ‘Digital Native’ argument initially sounded convincing, I later realised that age is not the only factor that should justify a person’s online literacy, and these terms cannot be generalised.

Though, discussing this with Sam, where he explains that with regards to Prenksy’s theory, there must be a “relationship between the age of a user and the likelihood of them being a digital resident or visitor” shows that age may still be relevant, just not the most important attribute when describing a digital resident.

Reading White’s work I agree with the more general terms ‘Digital Resident’ and ‘Digital Visitor’ as it allows multiple factors to be considered when assessing a person’s online skills. I also learnt from Sinead’s blog, that depending on the context i.e. using the Internet for personal or professional purposes, your position on the spectrum can vary.

Additionally, after reviewing the self-test I realised there are more factors that determine the level of a person’s digital literacy skills. Sam draws attention to another aspect we should take into consideration, being the “amount of time spent on the Internet and time between each access of the web” as well as Sinead’s input that being able to use complex software (such as Photoshop) aids towards a digital resident.

Overall, I learnt the importance of digital literacy, as it incorporates a range of “complex cognitive, motor, sociological, and emotional skills” (Eshet-Alkalai, Y, 2004). I hope by the end of this module I adopt more of these skills to allow me to work effectively in digital environments. 

 

My comment on Sam’s blog

My comment on Sinead’s blog

(Word Count: 312)

References:

• Prenksy, M. (2001). ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.’ On the Horizon, Vol. 9 No. 5 Pages 1-6 [Accessed 11 Feb. 2018].
• White, D. and Cornu, A. (2018). ‘Visitors and Residents: A New Typology for Online Engagement.’ Firstmonday.org, Vol. 16 No.9 [Accessed 11 Feb. 2018].
• The Economist (2010). ‘The Net Generation, unplugged.’ [Accessed 11 Feb. 2018]
• Eshet-Alkalai,Y. (2004). ‘Digital Literacy: A Conceptual Framework for Survival Skills in the Digital Era.’ Jl. of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, Vol. 13, pg 93-106 [Accessed 18 Feb. 2018]

 

Digital Residents and Digital Visitors

Prensky’s terminology, ‘Digital Immigrants’ and ‘Digital Natives’ categorises people’s online literacy based on age groups; Natives being the younger generation grown up in the digital word and immigrants being the older generation who have learnt new norms and online skills, yet may still carry an ‘accent’ (Prensky, M. 2001). In the video below Prensky explains the difference between the two groups, and how the educational system needs to evolve to cater for these ‘fast-paced’ natives.

However, his distinction between the two generations has been widely criticised. Although some are highly adept in technology, there is also a lack of young people with skills mentioned by Prensky due to limited access with such technology i.e. in third world countries, poking holes in his generalisations. Additionally, he mentions in his book “Digital Immigrants typically have very little appreciation for these new skills that the Natives have acquired”; though it is arguable that this is not entirely true. Recent reports show that there are not enough young people pursuing STEM based careers, which involve the use of advanced levels of technology, therefore leading to a shortage of skill sets in our high demanding digital economy (UniversitiesUK, 2015).

The use of terminology ‘Digital Residents’ and ‘Digital Visitors’ as a correction to Prensky’s initial labels allow for a more suitable association for people and their online behaviours (White, D. and Cornu, A. 2018).

To explore these concepts further, I took a digital self-test to evaluate my own online literacy and see where I fall on the continuum between residents and visitors.

From my self-test I would class myself as a digital visitor. I rarely use the web for social networking (apart from an occasional scroll through Facebook), and mainly use the web for gathering information related to my course. My use of e-mails academically is frequent, however most of my social interactions are made off-line.

Word Count: 300

References: 

• Prenksy, M. (2001). ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.’ On the Horizon, Vol. 9 No. 5 Pages 1-6  [Accessed 11 Feb. 2018].
• White, D. and Cornu, A. (2018). ‘Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement.’ Firstmonday.org,  Vol. 16 No.9 [Accessed 11 Feb. 2018].
• The Economist (2010). ‘The Net Generation, unplugged.’ [Accessed 11 Feb. 2018].
• UniversitiesUK (2015). ‘Supply and demand for higher-level skills.’ [Accessed 11 Feb. 2018].