Tertiary teaching in New Zealand/Blended learning/Why blended learning?/Digital natives and digital immigrants

Digital natives and digital immigrants

Are you a native or an immigrant in the country in which you are living? Does it make a difference? Most people would say yes, it certainly makes a difference to how much you know about your place of residency. But does it make a difference to how you think? Do people who have been born and raised in U.S.A. think differently from the English? Is it possible for a teacher from India to teach in New Zealand? Of course the answer is yes, but there might be some things to learn about your students! Marc Prensky, in a very important paper published in 2001, suggested that most teachers are in that situation - that our students think differently from their teachers because of their familiarity with digital technology.

Portfolio Activity

Read Marc Prensky's paper and think about your own situation with regard to digital technology. Maybe you are quite young but have not had the opportunity to spend much time with computers. Are you a digital native or an immigrant? Have you had any experience of teaching or learning with someone different? How do you think you rate in terms of reflection or malleability? Post your thoughts to the Moodle forum, or as an email to your tutor if a distance student.