Topic 1: Reflective Summary

When I first saw the question to consider for Topic 1, I instantly thought that I must fall into the category of ‘Native’ in terms of my use of the Web and Technology. However, as I began to research and read ideas presented by Prensky and Cornu and White I started to question whether perhaps the distinctions they were making were perhaps a little too simplistic. Hayley’s info graphic gave a really clear and helpful representation of the distinction between ‘Natives’ and ‘Visitors’, whilst Tatiana’s image was haunting and I felt an accurate portrayal of our dependence on the web.

However, having read many of the blogs linked to this topic I have discovered that I am not alone in terms of not living my entire life online. When I started this module, all of my online profiles were completely private, only friends could view any of the information on them. The information I posted on these sites was, and still is limited. I don’t feel that I live my life entirely through the web, although the perception is that a person from my generation should.

The point raised by Namat got me thinking. Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the Internet over 30 years ago. The more people that ‘come online’, the more it changes in what it can offer and further developments are made. Without lowering the tone too much, I remember being told in an A-Level class at school by a slightly eccentric teacher that the reason the Internet exploded and expanded so rapidly was as a result of the Porn Industry.

This module is definitely impacting already on my use of the Web in order to live my everyday life, I’m already embracing Twitter much more, but having researched the topic of ‘Natives’ and ‘Visitors’ and read the blogs by others and the comments which resulted from them I feel that I’m not alone in my desire not to be pigeonholed based on the expectations of academics on how I should use the Web.

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