Prensky coined the term "Digital Native" in 2001. The term was meant to be attributed to youth who have grown up in a world of digital technology and thus assumes a "Universal Grammar" of sorts that belongs only to those youth who would inherently develop digital literacy and fluency simply from growing up in this environment (a setting where technology has been invented and exists in the world around them). The term "Digital Immigrant" was positioned in stark contrast to the term "Digital Native." This term is attributed to the older generations who theoretically did not benefit from access to such Universal Grammar as the technology did not exist in the world when they were growing up.
Assumptions.
There is a rather famous saying about making assumptions and although I wish to maintain a professional voice in this narrative, I find it necessary to bring up this saying to frame my thought processes related to this discourse surrounding the notion of "Digital Immigrants" and "Digital Natives."
That was a mouthful.
You know what happens when you assume, right? You make an ass out of u and me.
I think there is an inherent danger in assigning labels such as immigrant and native. These labels, because they are so value-laden, essentially force assumptions to be made.
Spiegel cautions against this:
“The terminology leads all educational stakeholders to believe that children already know how to use these devices. They then eliminate the teaching of foundational skills necessary to operate the equipment productively and leave children to their own devices—literally and figuratively speaking—as they use the technology they have been given without any guidance.” (Spiegel, 2021, p.13)
As a middle school ELA teacher, each year I teach classrooms full of supposed digital natives. As one who was born in 1977 (the same year the Apple II was released), it might be assumed that I am therefore a digital immigrant. The truth lies somewhere in the middle for both myself and my students.
As a teacher, if I assume that my students already know how to navigate certain digital tools and use them effectively, I would be running the risk of missing out on valuable and necessary digital literacy development with them. Recently, I assigned a digital project to both my 6th and 7th grade ELA students. I had given specific expectations for content on the slides that I asked them to create, but did not explicitly teach any slide creating skills - it was more of an independent research presentation. What was interesting to me was that while the 7th graders were adept at inserting all kids of animated graphics and multimodal elements, the critical thought processes were entirely missing. For example, one student included a dancing construction worker on his slide, which got a positive reaction from his classmates but had zero relevance to the content of that particular slide. One of my 6th graders on the other hand was able to choose only relevant animations and even included a video of her mother sharing her home language as a powerful and related example of the content of that slide. The students' final presentations lent themselves nicely to a few mini-lessons to help my all students (6th and 7th) learn and hopefully grow from the process.
Just because someone is young does not mean that they know how to effectively use digital tools. Some students may have limited access to resources or tools that would strengthen digital skills. Students come with diverse experiences, backgrounds, and abilities in everything else -- in the same way they have differing levels of skill and fluency using digital technology.
I am intentional about strengthening and maintaining literacy in both English and the home languages of multilingual learners in my classroom, and in the same way I need to be intentional about developing digital fluency with my students.
This student included maps and a video recording of her mother speaking several words in one of the languages spoken in the country of her project's focus.
This student included animations that did not match the content of the slide. Though several animals were listed on the slide, none of the images matched those animals. And the dancing construction worker had no relevance to anything in the project.
Hey, thank you so much for sharing. I loved your quote "Just because someone is young does not mean that they know how to effectively use digital tools" I agree so much with this! I said the same thing, and these stereotypes can also be harmful on both sides, assuming youth knows tech better can cause issues and assuming those older might lack these skills is harmful.
ReplyDeleteInteresting approaches by your students. Thanks for sharing. I totally love the dancing construction worker though! Haha
ReplyDeleteThank you for this thoughtful and nuanced reflection! Your experience as a middle school ELA teacher really brings the discussion about Prensky’s “digital native” and Spiegel’s critique to life. I especially appreciate your emphasis on the dangers of assumptions—both about students’ digital skills and about labels like “native” and “immigrant” that can oversimplify complex realities.
ReplyDeleteYour example of the slide project is so telling. It highlights perfectly how digital fluency isn’t just about knowing how to use a tool (like inserting animations), but about why and when to use them effectively to enhance meaning and learning. The contrast between the students’ approaches shows that technological access and skill don’t automatically translate to critical thinking or purposeful use. This aligns well with Spiegel’s argument that digital literacy requires intentional teaching, not just handing over devices and expecting expertise.
I also love how you connect this back to the diversity of student backgrounds and experiences—not just culturally and linguistically, but also in terms of their digital access and fluency. It’s such an important reminder that tech skills are another dimension of equity and inclusion in education.
Your commitment to supporting multilingual learners by valuing both home languages and digital fluency is inspiring. It’s a great model for how we can holistically support students’ identities and skills in all areas.
Thanks again for sharing your real-world examples and insights. They deepen the conversation and remind us how essential it is to meet students where they are—digitally and academically—and to teach with intention and care.