"Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" written by Marc Prensky

Marc Prensky shows that there is a large difference between the students of the past, and the students of today. He refers to all people that were born or raised before the digital age began as “digital immigrants” and those who were born and raised in the digital age “digital natives”. By this, he means that “digital natives” are those that understand the language of communication and technology and thrive on the high, fast paced world full of TV shows, video games, and other forms of technological entertainment. However, “digital immigrants” are those that have had to adapt to the new technology, and learn to incorporate it as a useful asset in their daily lives. Prensky goes on to explain that our “digital immigrant” instructors are struggling to teach a generation who speaks an entirely different language, and are therefore less effective in their teaching practices. However, I somewhat disagree with Prensky for the fact that he believes the only way to successfully teach is to completely use technology and abandon the practices of the past. He also seems to imply that he hardly sees a way for a “digital immigrant” to possibly ever really make the transition into being a “digital native” and successfully use technology in an everyday format.