What Do You Make of the Divergent Positions of Boyd, Prensky, and Wesch? Where Do You Stand on the "Digital Native" Terminology?

After reading Danah Boyd’s chapter pertaining to the question “Are Today’s Youth Digital Natives?,” my preconceived notions regarding what I though Boyd would discuss were wrong. I originally thought that this article would discuss how current students in today’s society are technologically advanced, more so than the native immigrants. However, I was surprised with the revelations that she presented about both the problems that digital native youth encounter as well as the benefits of growing up in the digital age. It is interesting to note that while many teens appear to be technologically savvy, they also lack many of the fundamental skills needed to demonstrate proficiency in the area of technology. One of the most influential points in the chapter discussed how students learn through their peers or on their own to complete an action such as how to modify their settings in social media sites; however they do not understand exactly how to navigate the internet for other means such as researching information other than completing a google search. To add to this statement, students also understand that Wikipedia and the like are not reliable sources, but they only know so because their teachers or peers tell them so; therefore a google search is in order to access information. Students need to think more critically about their use and reasoning behind using technology to access information.

Danah Boyd’s outlook on digital natives slightly differs from Marc Prensky’s view on defining children and teens in this era as “digital natives.” He claims that our students today are all “native speakers of the digital language of computers, video games, and the internet.” Although this statement may be true, it varies from Boyd’s outlook that students need to think more critically about the technology they are using instead of the mundane task of completing the actions without understanding. More specifically, Marc Prensky’s definition of “digital natives” cannot be applied to every individual. For example, in my sheltered ESL classroom, I have students that have been exposed to technology, but are unable to complete a search of a topic or click through a webpage. This poses the question “How can we teach technology to English Language Learners while at the same time, encourage them to think critically about the tools that they are using as a means for learning?”

While many of the concerns presented focus on how to promote awareness of technology, the video constructed by Mike Wesch brings about a sense of power in the digital world. Through this informative video, Wesch demonstrates the various ways that as humans, we have the power to create and contribute to the digital world. He challenges us to create, construct, collaborate, edit, and improve what we have created in order to demonstrate that it is us who makes the digital world what it is today.

When assessing my knowledge of the “digital native” terminology, I would say that I am still creating a working definition of the concept in my mind. Because I consider myself to have traits of the “digital native,” I understand some of the critical components of technology; however I also need to be mindful of how to apply this knowledge I have to expand my learning in other digital areas. While I am still in this process of learning, my students are also on this same journey with me as they travel through the digital age.