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Introductory Topic

As times progress, the terminologies in internet-related studies change. We started the 21st century with a different outlook on defining the different generations of people in the modern digital age, with Mark Prensky’s 2001 article, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Continue reading →

UOSM2008: Digital literacy and self-evaluation

This is the first in a series of posts to be published over the coming months as part of the University of Southampton’s Living and Working on the Web module. To find out more, including links to all of this year’s student blogs, check out the UOSM2008 website. I have long regarded my digital literacy as strong, having used computers regularly from a young age and gone on to study for a Web Science degree. Continue reading →

Digital Visitors vs Digital Residents

Digital visitors and residents is a simple concept to describe how an individual makes use of the internet. The concept originated from Marc Prensky’s notion of digital natives and immigrants.   Prensky’s digital natives and immigrants: Prensky (2001) used the term digital native to describe students who are “native speakers” of the “digital language”. Continue reading →

Digital Visitors vs Digital Residents

Digital visitors and residents is a simple concept to describe how an individual makes use of the internet. The concept originated from Marc Prensky’s notion of digital natives and immigrants.   Prensky’s digital natives and immigrants: Prensky (2001) used the term digital native to describe students who are “native speakers” of the “digital language”. Continue reading →

Digital ‘Visitors and Residents’: Moving In

Prensky (2001) assumes someone of my generation must be a ‘digital native’ having grown up and gained a fluency in languages of computing and Web services to live, learn and work with. Whereas older generations are natural ‘digital immigrants’ with little experience of digital technology and require more education to become equally as competent. After filling out the digital literacy self-test sheet (shown below) I am definitely not a ‘digital native’. Continue reading →

Digital ‘Visitors and Residents’: Moving In

Prensky (2001) assumes someone of my generation must be a ‘digital native’ having grown up and gained a fluency in languages of computing and Web services to live, learn and work with. Whereas older generations are natural ‘digital immigrants’ with little experience of digital technology and require more education to become equally as competent. After filling out the digital literacy self-test sheet (shown below) I am definitely not a ‘digital native’. Continue reading →

The digital spectrum: where do I fit in?

Prensky (2001)‘s infamous categorization of ‘digital natives’ (those who are native speakers of the digital language) and ‘digital immigrants’ (those who supposedly can never become native due to their ‘accent’- their foot in the past) encompasses problematic assumptions about generational differences. “Today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors” (Prensky, 2001, p. Continue reading →

The digital spectrum: where do I fit in?

Prensky (2001)‘s infamous categorization of ‘digital natives’ (those who are native speakers of the digital language) and ‘digital immigrants’ (those who supposedly can never become native due to their ‘accent’- their foot in the past) encompasses problematic assumptions about generational differences. “Today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors” (Prensky, 2001, p. Continue reading →

The digital spectrum: where do I fit in?

Prensky (2001)‘s infamous categorization of ‘digital natives’ (those who are native speakers of the digital language) and ‘digital immigrants’ (those who supposedly can never become native due to their ‘accent’- their foot in the past) encompasses problematic assumptions about generational differences. “Today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors” (Prensky, 2001, p. Continue reading →

The digital spectrum: where do I fit in?

Prensky (2001)‘s infamous categorization of ‘digital natives’ (those who are native speakers of the digital language) and ‘digital immigrants’ (those who supposedly can never become native due to their ‘accent’- their foot in the past) encompasses problematic assumptions about generational differences. “Today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors” (Prensky, 2001, p. Continue reading →

Digital Residents vs Digital Visitors

In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web and 28 years later we live in a society that is almost dependant on technology. Prensky first classified digital users by ‘digital immigrants’ who were brought up with technology or ‘digital natives’ who were born in the pre-digital era. [1] (Figure 1) Figure 1 – Created with Piktochart Many people challenged this theory, as being born outside of the digital age doesn’t make you any less qualified. Continue reading →

Digital users: “Natives & Immigrants”, or “Visitors & Residents”?

The concept of Digital Natives & Immigrants was first introduced by Prensky’s in 2001 to distinguish between different generation’s technology engagement. However, should people’s technology competence be labelled based on their age group? Would a person in Gen Z automatically be more familiar with technology than a person of gen X? This age-based typology, though was widely accepted, has therefore received many criticisms. Continue reading →

At Home or Away?

Natives, Immigrants, Visitors and Residents Prensky (2001) explains that the way students now learn has changed “radically” because of time exposed to Internet and ubiquitous technologies. “Digital Natives” are “native speakers of digital [languages]”. Digital Immigrants are the opposite – technologies seem new and they “have very little appreciation of [digital] skills”. Continue reading →

Introductory Topic: Digital Visitors & Residents – UOSM2008

I chose this module as I am studying Web Science on the social science pathway, and I was interested in the intersection between this particular module and my degree. Web science explores the socio-technical aspects of the web such as the social shaping of technology. That is to say how the development of technology is a two way process. Continue reading →

Introductory Topic: Digital Visitors & Residents – UOSM2008

I chose this module as I am studying Web Science on the social science pathway, and I was interested in the intersection between this particular module and my degree. Web science explores the socio-technical aspects of the web such as the social shaping of technology. That is to say how the development of technology is a two way process. Continue reading →

Using the Twitter hashtag

The Twitter hashtag for this module - #uosm2008 - is a central part of this course. You need to monitor the feed daily and be actively engaged. We understand that you may NOT want to connect your personal Twitter account with this module. We therefore suggest creating a new profile - under your full/real name - which you can use for this module and for following professionally useful people/institutions/services beyond the end of the module. Continue reading →

I live here.. but sometimes I’m just a visitor..

Prensky (2001) coined the terms ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ – arguing that an individual’s use of the web is directed by their age. However, recent educational research shows there’s both expertise and lack of it at all age groups. Recent notions of ‘digital residents’ and ‘digital visitors’ have now emerged. Continue reading →

Which are you – Digital Resident or Digital Visitor?

Marc Prensky coined the terms digital natives and digital immigrants and how the distinction between the two will become less relevant in the coming years.  “Natives” are those who grew up immersed in technology, referring to the younger generation, whereas “Immigrants” are the older generation who struggle to adapt to the network age as if “learning a new language“. Continue reading →

Introductory Topic

Digital Natives & Immigrants ‘Digital Natives’, a term coined by Prensky (2001) to describe people who have always had access to the internet their entire lives. People from my age group (Millenials) are included in this group, as we grew up with the internet and hence we tend to have a high level of online proficiency, in comparison to people born long before the rise of the internet known as ‘Digital Immigrants’. Continue reading →

Introductory blog

Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants Prensky’s concept differentiates between those who were born in the digital world and speak the digital language (Natives) and those who have adjusted to the new technology at a later part of their life but will always have an “accent” (Immigrants) (Prensky, 2001). He also implied that ‘Immigrant educators’ would need to reform their methods of teaching to accommodate the Digital Natives (White & Cornu, 2011). Continue reading →