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2016, Page 18

Are we simply residents or visitors?

We have already made a start to 2016 and are continuously seeing the steady growth of internet users, however, we aren’t always aware of the reasoning behind these uses. Sometimes we assume that people are simply living on the internet, but in some cases are focus on finding information. White (2008), outline 2 distinct categories of internet users. Continue reading →

Topic 1: Digital Visitors and Digital Residents

Prensky (2001) defined digital natives as those who grew up with technology and intuitively have an ability to efficiently utilise technology and the internet. This is in contrast with digital immigrants, people from an older generation that are just now learning how to use technology and as a result, cannot skilfully utilise it. After reading about the digital immigrant definition, I instantly thought about my IT illiterate parents. Continue reading →

The Move to Digital Residents and Visitors

Topic 1 of UOSM2008 focuses on the idea of digital ‘visitors’ and ‘residents’ – a framework I’d never actually come across until this week. Digital Natives and Immigrants to Residents and Visitors The development of the new terms ‘digital residents’ and ‘digital visitors’ to replace the outdated ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ has definitely become necessary to create a better understanding of the way individuals engage with the web. Continue reading →

Silver Surfers and Digital Babies

Until now the idea of a new generation of native digital speakers (White and Alison Le Cornu, 2011) was not far fetched from what I’ve experienced. My grandfather’s collection of encyclopaedias is the idea of ancient history for many 90’s kids, to which Google was their first word. The younger generations innate ability to use digital means was introduced by Prensky (White, 2014) as a ‘native’. Continue reading →

Digital Residents and Visitors

A naïve pictographic representation of digital residents and digital visitors. Traditional names given to two different categories of users on the Web are digital natives and digital immigrants. [1] I’m sure you can imagine what they might mean, but a digital native is someone who has grown up in the digital world and is thus well-versed in technology and a digital immigrant is someone much older who has had to adapt and learn new technology, often struggling in the process. Continue reading →

Digital Residents, Visitors and Education

Digital technology is used increasingly for a variety of purposes: social networking, recreation, marketing, research, media and learning. Theories by Prensky (2001) – although highly criticised – gave us an important framework and a typology for how individuals use technology in their day-to-day lives. The movement from “Digital Natives and Immigrants” (initially suggested by Prensky) to “Residents and Visitors” has come to light for various reasons. Continue reading →

Topic 1: “Digital Visitors” and “Digital Residents”

Have you ever considered the idea that growing up in a digital world makes you different to your parents? The differing levels of digital competencies have been assessed by many academics. Prensky (2001) describes young people who are fluent in the digital language of modern technologies as “Digital Natives”, and describes those not born into the digital age but who are frequent users of such new technologies as “Digital Immigrants”. Continue reading →

Topic 1

Topic 1: Digital Residents and Digital Visitors The concept of the “digital residents” and “digital visitors” continuum (White, 2011) is, in my opinion, a much better summation of people’s digital involvement than the previous “Digital Natives” and “Digital Immigrants” (Prensky, 2001). A digital “resident” can be seen as an active user of most internet aspects, such as social media posting, content creation, shopping, banking, blogging, etc. Continue reading →

Visitors and Residents or Natives and Immigrants?

According to Prensky, Digital Natives have been born into a world where technology is an integral part of everyday life, whereas those who transitioned from analogue to digital and had to learn tech speak, are a Digital Immigrant. There are many facets of technology that I do not understand and just because I’m a millennial does not mean I am automatically computer literate. Continue reading →

Not everyone from the new generation is a digital ‘native’!

  At the beginning of the 21st century it was assumed by a plurality of scholars that the 90s generation and onwards could all use all online facilities with great ease as they were born in a digital and technological world. Mark Prensky referred to them as digital ‘native’. The opposite was digital ‘immigrant’, someone born before the 90s who could have learned about the new technologies but for whom it would have never be natural to use the web (Prensky, 2001). Continue reading →

Digital ‘Residents’ and ‘Visitors’

There are two different types of people when it comes to the web, people who are familiar with the online world, and people who aren’t. These people and referred to as ‘residents’ or ‘visitors’, respectively.   Prensky’s Typology Prensky created a theory surrounding the expertise that different age groups have in the digital world, classifying people either as a ‘native’ or an ‘immigrant’. Continue reading →

The online world: are you staying or visiting?

Whilst Prensky (2001) initiated a stimulating debate on digital literacy and whether it is innate or learned, his opinions are rather absolute. He refers to the Net Generation as “digital natives”, whereas the older generation is referred to as “digital immigrants”. According to Prensky, “digital natives” were born into the digital era and experienced a variety of technologies from the onset of their lives. Continue reading →

Topic 1: Digital ‘visitors’ and ‘residents’

Prensky’s Digital Natives and Immigrants The concept of digital ‘visitors’ and ‘residents’ was first established by White and Cornu (2011) and updates Prensky’s (2001) somewhat out-dated concept of digital ‘natives’ and ‘immigrants’. Prensky’s typology argues that those who are born into technologies and grow up with and around those technologies will always be more familiar with and connect to those technologies than those who did not grow up with technologies. Continue reading →