Anyways, my first introduction to Web 2.0 was with social media platforms like MySpace and Facebook. Originally designed for participants to share their daily life experiences with friends. I often struggled, and still do, with needing to share what I made for lunch. I do realize that is not what Facebook nor MySpace was used for but you get the idea. I did not have a positive perception of online social platforms. To be honest I am still skeptical today, but have more of an open mind to the benefits of social media platforms for educational purposes.
To this day, my friends comment on my limited Facebook posts, acknowledging the “once-a-year” posting. It’s usually to my annual place of travel somewhere in the world.
Based on an article by Marc Prensky titled Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, I am a digital immigrant. I base this designation by how he defines the actions and thoughts of digital immigrants vs digital natives. As the article continues to explain digital immigrants and digital natives, I realize I am a cross between both. I like my paper books and printed articles, and yet I use Google as my life line for learning new things. I would be lost in thought without having a search engine at my finger tips.
Can I become a digital native, as is my generational classification? Or better yet, can I become a digital native instructor, as the article suggests we should shift towards?
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital native, digital immigrants part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.
I thought of myself as a digital immigrant only on the basis that I do not seek the quick reward and gratification of doing work. I think as adults we do things that benefit our future, rather than looking to benefit us now. I somewhat disagreed with Pensky's interpretation to accept this sort of learning. From my experience in college or in my profession, I never experienced anything with quick gratification. As an Educator, when do I stop teaching in a digitally native way?
ReplyDeleteThere are so many different ways to use social media. The sharing of one's lunch is one, for sure, but I'm not convinced that sharing lunch is what those folks really see as their overall purpose. There may be a blog post in that. Anyway, what I meant to comment right now was that you can certainly have a professional purpose in social media spaces without the personal self-disclosure.
ReplyDeleteI'm a private person, too. The only social media I've ever used with any regularity has been LinkedIn, and that was purely for keeping up with colleagues. I'm excited to see if I find professional uses for some of these others this summer.
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