Digital NativesDavid is not very comfortable with new technology and he does not have ma

Digital Natives

David is not very comfortable with new technology and he does not have many gadgets. Lucy loves new technology. She owns a games console, an MP3 player, and a mobile phone with a built-in digital camera. David is a teacher. Lucy is his student.

Like Lucy, many children grow up using computers almost every day and often know more about technology than adults. Educator Marc Prensky calls children like Lucy “digital natives”. Digital natives can quickly learn how to use new gadgets and new software, while non-digital natives spend a lot of time reading manuals and worrying about computer viruses. In fact, many parents try to save time by asking their children to teach them how to use new technology!

The divide between digital natives and non-digital natives can cause problems at school because students and teachers grow up with very different ideas about technology. Many teachers think that playing computer games is a waste of time and that technology has made children unable to concentrate. However, many students think their classes are slow and boring, and want to use computers to study.

Prensky believes that digital natives have learned a lot from technology, but that they learn things in a different way. For example, reading a website is different from reading a book, so digital natives are good at finding the information they need and choosing what they want to read. So perhaps teachers need to change the way they teach and use more technology in class – because the number of digital natives will keep increasing!

1.David is a digital native.()

2.Marc Prensky is interested in teaching with technology.()

3.Digital natives are comfortable using laptops and flash drives.()

4.Many teachers think computer games are only for having fun or killing time.()

5.People read books and websites in the same way.()