The Views of Marc Prensky and the Visions of Today's Digital Natives

Marc Prensky wrote an artice called, "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants," in which he discusses the differences and needs of these two groups. Digital natives are those who have been brought up with technology and are fluent in its use. This is opposed to digital immigrants who have to learn how to use technology later in life. These ideas are very important in the world of education. Typically the students are the digital natives where as the teachers are digital immigrants. The students in classrooms today have been raised with technology. From the time these children are very young, they are surrounded by technology. They have functioning toy computers, toy cell phones, and virtually every other toy has some sort of power and technology incorporated in it. Students are use to learning by technological means and expect to do the same in their classroom. They want colors, graphics, excitement, and fun. They have practiced putting information into a computer and getting an instant solution or answer. Today's children, our "digital natives," do not want to sit and listen to a teacher. They want real life, fast paced, interactive learning, in which they can communicate with others and create new things.

This new way of life changes children’s thinking patterns. They aren’t use to being patient and taking the time to find a variety of resources to answer their questions. Children today expect things to happen instantly with the push of a button (or click of a mouse). When they have a question, they just type it into their favorite search engine and are provided with multiple sources to choose from. Children now expect to be entertained and to participate in their environment. They do not want to sit and stare at a teacher; they have grown up communicating with and learning from technology. Most of today's children's toys, starting with newborn toys, incorporate some sort of technology and educate the children as they play. Today’s children think very differently from their elders who were not raised with technology being a dominant part of their lives.

Prensky says that Digital Natives are use to getting information instantaneously, doing multiple things at once, and prefer graphics to written text. They prefer to be networked as opposed to working independently and like to play games instead of work. Digital Natives expect frequent rewards and enjoyment. This is all very different from Digital Immigrants who learned new things by following a step by step process and focused on a single task at a time. Their learning was very serious and mainly drill and practice. These differences have changed children’s thinking patterns and possibly their brains.

We need to find ways to integrate the "legacy content" of mathematics, reading, writing, logic, etc. with the "future content" that includes digital media and technology. The digital immigrants must learn to use and teach these contents together effectively. Perhaps they present information on a SMART board and show videos to enhance their lessons. Students should be given choices of how they will present their learning as well. Where students may have once created posterboard presentations, they can now create posters on Glogster or presentations on their Google accounts or Prezi. By playing video games, students can create strategies and use critical thinking skills. If what we teach is as important as how we teach, then we need to create new methods to engage our learners in a fast paced environment where they can learn and enjoy coming to school. Today's students envision using all of these Web 2.0 tools, communicating, using technology, and having fun.