Sunday, April 3, 2011

We are all Digital Immigrants

Andy Woodworth has a great blog, Agnostic, maybe that often gets right at an idea I've been thinking about. His post today about the term Digital Native was spot on.
We are all immigrants to this new land.
Google has been around for only 13 years, Facebook and Twitter for 5. New tools are developed every. single. day.
Working with children navigate the internet and the research process has made it clear to me that these aren't Digital Natives. They do not instinctively know how to get the information they need or how to best use the plethora of tools at their disposal. They need to be taught, just like the rest of us.
When I hear adults say they don't understand/use/like technology because they are Digital Immigrants I cringe inside. It's not an innate ability. It is not age related. One of my graduate school professors was in her 60s and is the most tech savvy person I know. She learned it. She worked hard to stay current. She puts in the time.
Not being interested in technology is ok. But please, don't blame it on not being born in this generation.

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