The Digital Native Versus Immigrant Divide

    The immigrant/native divide, as described by Prensky, is this idea that new generations who have been born into the digital world have grown up in such a different way than those who were born before the digital world that it has created a divide that affects how students learn. The "digital native" began learning in a time with widespread technology, while "digital immigrants" learned before many of the technological advancements we have today. Given these differences, Prensky suggests that there is now a divide between teachers, who are digital immigrants, and students, who are digital natives that affect our educational system. For example, given how quickly digital natives are used to receiving information due to technology, the way they process information differs from how digital immigrants are used to processing information. With this, it can be difficult for digital immigrants to understand this and adapt their teaching methods to accommodate this. Additionally, according to the reading it states, "Digital Immigrants typically have very little appreciation for these new skills that the Natives have acquired and perfected through years of interaction and practice." (Prensky, 2012, p. 70). Even though not all Digital Immigrants may think this way, this furthers the divide thus making it more difficult to teach new generations effectively. 

    Though I believe that Prensky has brought up some interesting points about how the digital age may have affected teacher-student dynamics and education, there have been some myths found associated with his ideas. An article by Kirschner (2017) gathered some evidence to outline a few of the myths in Presnky's work. Kirschner discusses that being a 'digital native' doesn't necessarily mean one is 'digitally literate.' What I think he means by this is that growing up with technology does not necessarily mean one knows how to use it in ways that further their learning. The article states, "... while students appear to use a large quantity and variety of technologies for communication, learning, staying connected with their friends and engaging with the world around them, they are using them primarily for “personal empowerment and entertainment, but not always digitally literate in using technology to support their learning..." (Kirschner, 2017). This statement shows that the term "digital native" doesn't really hold the meaning Prensky claims it does. This is because even though people grew up with technology, they still must learn how to be 'literate' with technology which is evidently shown to not always be the case. 

Kirschner, P. A., & De Bruyckere, P. (2017). The myths of the digital native and the multitasker. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67(67), 135–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.06.001

Prensky, M. (2012). From digital natives to digital wisdom : hopeful essays for 21st century learning. Corwin.

Here is a helpful quick video defining digital natives and digital immigrants for some more details: