If I had to classify myself in this new digital age, I would be a Digital Immigrant. Yes, my family got our first Atari when I was five and our first PC when I was in the third grade. Although we had these new “toys” my game time was limited due to the large number of children in the family, most particularly my two older brothers, who hogged the majority of the available game time. I even learned to type on a computer keyboard in the seventh grade, a skill I quickly picked up due to my musical background. As much contact as I had with technology, starting at such a young age, I was never drawn to it, and other than video games, never even liked it.
According to Marc Prensky, “The “digital immigrant accent” can be seen in such things as turning to the Internet for information second rather than first, or in reading the manual for a program rather than assuming that the program itself will teach us to use it.” (Prensky, 2001) This sentence describes me perfectly. I would much rather read a book than find information on the internet, and I much prefer browsing shelves of books in a library to the overwhelming results of using a web-based search engine. Books seem more reliable to me, and I find the tactile experience of feeling and turning pages to be very satisfying.
I find it worrisome that growing up “wired” causes the brain to develop differently. So far, everyone seems to agree that this is acceptable and may be preferable. However, Dr. Mark Jude Tramano, of Harvard, found that “A comparison of musicians versus nonplayers brains via magnetic resonance imaging showed a 5 percent greater volume in the musicians’ cerebellums, ascribed to adaptations in the brain’s structure resulting from intensive musical training and practice.” (Tramano, 1998) Would it not be better to get students to devote their time and energy to activities which develop their brains and have more positive personal interaction?
In high school, I took an additional typing class (strictly to fulfill core requirements) and had to type most of my papers. This is the only contact I had with technology before college. During college, all papers had to be typed and in MLA format. My senior year, however, presented a unique challenge with my first class to have on-line content. There were links, papers, and tests, all on-line, and we were supposed to check in every single day. I didn’t have a computer at home, and considered it a waist of my precious time to wait in line at the computer lab each day, so I did not check in reliably. My professor loved to give me heat about it at the start of class each day, “So, Anna, seen a computer lately? I know you haven’t, so come see me after class.” He would say it every day, regardless of whether I had actually checked in or not. I found this enraging, not engaging! This method did not increase my learning opportunities.
These articles have not changed my mind very much at all. I believe that with all the gains we are making in technology we are losing an equal amount of social propriety. When I am standing in a store being helped and I get placed on the back-burner because the phone is ringing, I find myself enraged again. With society moving away from real life, person to person contact and toward digital conversation and communication, I am saddened by the interpersonal skills we are losing. Prensky writes, “All the students we teach have something in their lives that’s really engaging-something that they do and that they are good at, something that has an engaging, creative component to it.” (Prensky, 2005) In my heart I wish that that “something” could be a talent such as musical or athletic ability, and that students could be engaged by the natural world surrounding them. Instead, I will have to let go of my ideals and try to reach the students by the method they are most comfortable with. I will not allow electronic devices to be used in my classroom, but I will have an up-to-date web page with information for students and parents alike. Podcasts may also be a useful tool to make available the music I would like my students to listen to. Perhaps this class will help me discover new and innovative ways to incorporate technology into my classroom.


Prensky, M. (2001). On the Horizon: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Vol. 9. No. 5,
October, 2001. MCB University Press.
Prensky, M. (2005). EDUCAUSE Review: Engage Me or Enrage Me. September/October
2005.
Tramano, M. J. (1998). Reported in USA Today. December 10, 1998