1. Digital Natives, Digital Inmigrants
by
Marc Prensky

2. New students N – Gen D – Gen
Digital Natives
“Native Speakers” of the digital
language of computer, video games
and the Internet.

3. Generations that grow up with new
technology
Computers Video games Video cams
Digital Music players Cell phones
Computer games Email
The Internet
Tools of the digital age

4. Today´s students are not
longer the people our
educational system was
designed to teach.

5. Digital technology Big discontinuity
Singularity
Radical changes

6. Digital Inmigrants
People who were not born into the
digital world, but who are fascinated
by it and who have adopted some /
most aspects the new
technology.

7. A distinction their “accent”
They always retain their “digital
inmigrant accent” because they
are learning a new language later in
life which goes into a different part of
the brain.

8. Examples
• Digital Natives • Digital immigrants
• Turn to the Internet • Turn to the Internet
for information in the in the second place
first place • Read the manual for
• A program teaches a program
them how to use it • Print their emails or
by using it have it print
• Read emails on the • Print documents
screen edit them in them
• Edit documents on • Take people
the screen physically to see
• Send people a URL together an
interesting website

9. Problem in educaction
Digital immigrant instructors, who
speak the outdated language of
the pre- digital age, are struggling
to teach a population that speaks
an entirely ew language.

10. Digital Natives Think and process
information
differently from
their predecessors
Their thinking
patterns ( and
probably their
brains ) have
changed

11. Digital Natives
- Receive information really fast
- Prefer graphics before texts
- Function best when networked
- Prefer games to “serious” work
- Have little patience for lectures,
step-by-step logic
- Have a library on their laptops
- Used to the instantaneity of hypertext
- Use instant messaging

12. Digital Inmigrants:
tend to have little
appreciation for these new
skills.

13. To confront this issue:
It is necessary to
reconsider
Methodology and Content
In learning

14. Methodology
Today´s teachers have to learn to
communicate in the language and style
of their students

15. Content Two kinds “Legacy”
content
“Future”
content

16. “Legacy” content
The “traditional” curriculum: reading,
writing, arithmetic, logical thinking

17. “Future” content = Digital / technological content
Software, hardware, robotics, genomics,
etc
PLUS
ethics, politics, sociology, languages, etc

18. The result:
“learning new stuff”
and
“learning new ways to do with
old
stuff”

19. Adapt materials to
the language of
Digital Natives
Effort
is
needed
Invent Digital Native
methodologies for all
subjects, at all levels