I found the article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, by Marc Prensky really interesting and very amusing. As I read I tried to think about where I fit in. Was I a native or an immigrant? I am both. To those younger than myself I am an Immigrant, to those older, a native. When I think of my parents who both recently got iPhones, I laugh at some of the ways they show their immigrant accent. My mom was lost the other day and rather than looking up her destination on her phone, she pulled over and asked for directions. My Stepdad upon getting the iPhone printed the entire owners manual, using two reams of paper!
Yet when I am around my students I become the immigrant. They would be shocked if I told them that when I was in school I didn’t have the Internet to use for my research papers, I used the card catalog in the library to look things up. They probably don’t even know what a card catalog is. That I haven’t always had caller Id let alone a cell phone, and those cell phones only made phone calls.
I feel like people my age are trapped in this funny space between the natives and the immigrants, not fully belonging in either category. But I believe that being in this position will be beneficial, that I will be able to serve as a translator, understanding each group and helping to close the divide.
sara c.m.w 