What is a digital native?

Way back in 2009, when I began teaching with 1:1 technology, the comment came up during a training workshop that our students are digital natives. Now, in 2015, I don't think so. By now, after six years of working with students and teachers, I find that teachers are more native than students. What should a digital native look like?

Consider what this experience might feel like. If I were to go to a new country and interact with natives, what would I be experiencing? I would taste different foods, hear different languages, observe people doing a variety of jobs. There would be a learning curve for me. I may not know how to cross the street or find a bathroom. I might begin by finding somebody who spoke my language and who would be willing to help me navigate. I would then begin to look for commonalities between this new culture and my own. If I were to migrate to this new land, how long would it take to become a native?

I enjoy traveling, and had the opportunity to travel with a science club throughout much of central and western Mexico. I had high school Spanish and found that I could take to young children but that adults spoke too fast. I could order food and ask a few directions, but that was about it.

I have been working with technology since 1983 or so. I used an Apple IIe, Vax, and had the chance to work with early versions of the internet. Was I a native at this time? It was not part of my daily life and I could not live in this domain. It was more like exploring a new country. In college, I began to rely more heavily on technology. Over the next four years, I wrote more, began editing photos and videos, and even coded a website in html. I dabbled in graphic design and website construction. In 2001, I joined a tech support team with a Macintosh software company and took nearly 100 phone calls a day. Was I a native yet? I was functioning and succeeding in a new culture. Teaching really brought me deep into technology. I started to speak the language and extend myself further into the creative aspects of the digital world. By the time I received a grant to use 1:1 tools in my classroom, I would say that I was a native. I ventured into new environments without much of a learning curve. I was teaching others, both students and teachers, how to navigate in the digital world. I never find the need to use computer manuals or take "how to" classes. I just open a program and start using it. It took almost 20 years for me to reach this level of interaction and comfort within the digital country. There are still unexplored regions for me. I am beginning to scale mountains and reach new heights and there are places I do not feel comfortable to go.

Yes, some students are natives just as some teachers are. Age does not define whether or not a person is a citizen of this digital world; rather, it is how you exist in that world. 

Where will you go? How will you help others to get there? Do you hang up a sign that reads, "just visiting" or find an address and start living?

Find your inner Tongan! Be fearless! Explore!

Enjoy,

Al