Am I a Digital Native?

This weeks topic focused on the concept of the Digital Native.The idea comes from Pensky who explained that the newest generation should be considered digital natives because they don't have memory from a time when computers, the internet, and social media were pervasive in daily life. The beginning of this group was the year 1984, and while I was born in 1983. I feel that realistically I should probably still be considered a digital native. While I do technically remember not having a computer or the internet in my house, I played video games (and still do), I remember when we got internet pretty early on, and I remember having computer access at school in some of the earliest grades. I find that I'm not afraid of technology and never really have been. When I get a new piece of technology or sign up for a new program or app, I teach myself how to use it through trial and error. When all else fails I use Google. So are the boundaries of what makes a digital native soft? Am I a digital native because of my digital fluency? 

After this weeks readings, I feel I ultimately support Prensky's theory over those who were trying to disprove it. I think that the modern day student is different and that their digital fluency has important connotations for the field of education and as such needs to be studied and understood. 

I didn't really like the Kirschner piece. They sounded indignant in their writing and seemed to take what Prensky was saying as if the digital native came into the world physically or genetically different, rather than a cultural/social outcome of the everyday presence of technology in their lives. I will note that their views on true multitasking seems logical