Course Reflection

When I began this course seven weeks ago, I did so with a bit of trepidation. I am, after all, a digital immigrant, and while I am a constant consumer of technology, I am certainly not on the cutting edge of innovation. Throughout the course, I was able to gain some perspective on educational technology and the related innovations in higher education. And it wasn’t the least bit scary.

At the onset of the course, I was asked what I believed was the most significant modern technological innovation in education. My answer now remains the same as it was then: the internet. As I shared in my first week in the course, to my thinking, the internet has been the single greatest modern disruptor of higher education. And it is every part of higher education that has been disrupted. Certainly, the reach of an institution, and students’ access to it, has grown exponentially. The way teaching is done and how content is delivered has been forever altered, and is in a constant state of change as technologies evolve. In my experience, student services have had a more difficult time than instruction in adapting to the needs of fully online students, but progress is certainly being made. Even the way a college is managed has been impacted; in my own division, I have faculty I supervise who I have never met in person.

There were a number of topics covered in the course, both directly and indirectly, that resonated with me. Most of these had to do with the issues related to digital natives and digital immigrants. While the two terms were initially introduced as binaries, I see them more as falling on a continuum, and I see myself as an example of this. While I am, by age and generation, a digital immigrant, I am a frequent and reasonably capable user of technology. I believe I have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to take advantage of technology in education; however, I just barely do. I am by no means a digital native, and can distinctly recall being a young student and typing papers on an electric typewriter, not to mention doing research in actual books in a physical library. When asked to learn a new technology, program, or other resource, I can generally do so. That said, the learning does not come naturally to me and, speaking generally, I do not find technology to be intuitive. I watch my five-year-old twins with a bit of awe as they manipulate iPads and smartphones with ease; for them, the technology has always existed and, as a result, is intuitive. My own confidence and effectiveness has increased over time, and I expect that will continue. Even as my skills improve, I will always be in a position of catching up, rather than staying on pace with, trends and new technologies.

So I fall somewhere on a continuum based on all those factors. All that said, the reality is the majority of our current students are digital natives and are being taught by faculty and served by staff and administrators who are, primarily, digital immigrants. Both groups need to be aware of the needs, and the strengths, of the other.

One of the topics covered indirectly during the course is the need for us to communicate with one another, and for groups to make an attempt to truly understand one another. This cannot be done through observation and reading of literature; instead, we (digital immigrants) need to be going directly to our digital native student to find out what they expect, want, and need from their higher education experience (Heitner, 2014; Prensky, 2012). While we may not be able to fully deliver on every request, we may be able to meet our students somewhere in the middle. In doing so, we may also be able to help them learn to thrive in environments and situations that are not as technologically advanced and equipped as those they desire. 

I was also pleased by my experience blogging. It was something I was not necessarily looking forward to, but proved to be both enjoyable and a personal growth opportunity. I have tried blogging in the past, but have never felt I had words or ideas enough to fill an empty screen for all to see. I have become more comfortable with the process, and am looking for ways to continue it after this course is completed.   

References

Heitner, D. (2014). The challenges of raising a digital native [Video]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRQdAOrqvGg

Prensky, M. (2012). From digital natives to digital wisdom: Hopeful essays for 21st century           

learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.