Boyd Vs Prensky
The divergent positions of Boyd and Prensky are very interesting when it comes to technology and media. Prensky’s position is that young people are “digital natives” because our students today are born into this digital age and speak this digital language through computers, video games and the internet. They don't need the technology instructions because they know everything about it. Prensky then positions older people to be “digital immigrants'' because these people were not born into the digital world and adopt aspects of new technology. Boyd’s position differs from Prensky due that she believes that these terms do not represent young and older people. She talks about how young people need to be taught how to use technology safely, be aware of bias, and become media literate.
I can relate to both positions that Boyd and Prensky make about technology. As a Gen X generation, Prensky’s position seems relevant to me. I see how, at times, technology is a foreign language to me and how quick my 15 year old son can find information, create impressive presentations, connect to a printer, or how fast he was able to use a smartphone when he was a toddler. I can see the difference in how I work in linear processing and step by step when it comes to technology, while my son works at parallel processing and at random access. I can also see how Boyd’s position is also understandable because young people do not know everything about the digital world. They too need the guidance and support to maneuver through this digital age. Boyd states, “ When we assume that youth will just absorb all things digital through exposure, we absolve ourselves of our responsibility to help teenagers develop necessary skills.” (180)
An eye opener for me is Boyd’s thoughts on digital inequality that debunks the theory that all young people are digital natives and know a lot about technology. I have seen digital inequality first hand in my own classroom. Students that come from low income families do not have the same technological opportunities as those with high income families. The students of low income families may not have internet access at home or devices to explore with. Even though I have witnessed this, I never really thought about the repercussions it has on these students in the long term. Boyd mentions how more privileged youth often have more opportunities to develop these skills outside the classroom (2014). This is why media literacy needs to be incorporated into school curriculums. Just playing video games and or surfing the internet does not indicate that these students are engaging critically to the information they search on the internet.
As an educator I hope to incorporate media literacy into my classroom, even though I do feel like a digital immigrant. I want my students to know the skills of digital literacy and identify the bias of advertising , and understand how a computer system works daily. I want to empower my students /youths with the knowledge to succeed in this digital age. 💻
Boyd, D. (2014). It’s complicated: The social lives of networked teens. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press.
Elena, I also talked about "Digital Inequality" (not surprised we both elaborated on that topic since we see it in our school ) and the differences it brings upon our students. To me, we cannot make the assumption that all students are "Digital Natives" as their levels of technology expose is vastly different. Some students are able to go home and practice their skills while others only use a computer during school hours. I also loved how you emphasized school being a place to hone in on skills and teach our students more about digital literacy. I also hope to empower my students moving forward in their technological growth. Thank you for great insight!
ReplyDeleteElena, I feel similar things that you do... I also agree with both Prensky and Boyd in certain aspects of their beliefs. I appreciate that you were thoughtful enough to consider our students who come from low income families and do not have access to the same technological opportunities that other students may have access to. This reminds me of when I was younger and I have cable tv but cousin did not. We would have weekly phone conversations where she would ask me questions about pop culture and what latest music videos dropped since she did not have access to it!
ReplyDeleteElena, I can relate to your experiences in the classroom with your students. I have some students that have access to a device at home so they are quickly able to manipulate different resources and other students who struggle to log in to the computer at the end of the school year. I would often have students that were able to troubleshoot and help one another if someone was having trouble accessing something. I think that Prensky and Boyd's beliefs both have some truth to them. Our younger students have been introduced to technology at a much younger age, so therefore have an easier time using it. On the other hand, while they may know how to use it, does not mean that they know how to use it in an appropriate setting.
ReplyDeleteElena, I love how you discussed feeling like a digital immigrant, but still wanting your students to learn new skills. I think this would be an awesome thing to disclose to students. Let them teach you! It's like having your MLL students teach you their language. I really enjoyed your post and connected to your thoughts and ideas!
ReplyDeleteI like that you brought up critical engagement in media. I think that the students who are accessing as part of their daily lives for play are also able to engage critically if we bring in opportunities. I thought the final project that Wesch's student made at the end is a great example of that.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with what you see in your own classroom, as mine is similar. Yes, most of my middle schoolers are well versed in Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok, but the actual digital literacy of a student varies from person to person. Many of my eighth grade students don't know how to find credible resources (I had to fit that into my curriculum this year). It is imperative for these students, especially do to inequities at home, to have access to teachings on how to properly work in their digital world.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with this post Elena. Though they may know how to use social media, being well versed in media literacy is much deeper and complicated than that. Almost all of my students struggle with the concept of reliable sources because to them, anything on Google is reliable - which is a scary thought.
ReplyDelete