Interview
with a "Digital Native"
Interview
with a "Digital Native"
Below
is the written narrative of questions and answers between my daughter and I. My
daughter’s name is Victoria and she is 15 years old. I chose her as for my case
study and final project.
The
Interview with my daughter
Walesca:
What
would be a pseudonym, or username, you would like me to use to represent you in
my paper? Victoria
-Moms just call me Victoria, really!
Walesca
Do
you have a computer/iPod/MP3 Player/ Wii/ etc…? Victoria - Yes, I have and iPod,
a laptop, a Wii, and my smart phone.
Walesca
What kinds of things do you use the computer
for? Victoria
-I use the computer to download my music, listen to my music, social
media, and research.
Walesca
What is your favorite thing to use the
computer for? Victoria
-Mostly I like to use it for social media to keep up with my
favorite singer, or listen to music.
Walesca
How did you learn to do that? Victoria -
I either taught myself or my brothers showed me.
Walesca
What are some other things you use the
computer for? Victoria
-I use it if I have major projects for school or papers to write.
Walesca
What is your favorite game? Why? Victoria -I
don’t really play games as much anymore, but I like to play Mario Party with my
brother sometimes.
Walesca
Do
you know other people who do this? Victoria -No… A lot of my friends play other
games...
Walesca
How
do you use the computer at school? Victoria -For school I use the computer for
research papers, projects, and for any in class activities we do.
Walesca
How would you like to use the computer at school? Victoria - In school we already use the
computer for a lot of things. Most teachers use the computer to lesson plan.
Walesca
Do
you think teachers would let you use computers to do those things? Why? Why
not?
Victoria -My
teachers let me use the computer for typing papers, researching and for
creating documents. I also think they would let us use computers to do other
school base stuff Spanish translation, looking up history facts and YouTube
videos…
Walesca
Anything
else you would like to tell me?
Victoria -Nope…
you owe me mom...
Activity #2 Connections
Some quotes from our course texts
that I am considering including in my final case report that I feel relate to
my findings in my interview are listed below:
Chapter
2. ~ Digital Wisdom and Homo Sapiens Digital by Marc
Prensky
As technology becomes more sophisticated with
continuous change, developing the capacity to help us make moral and ethical
choices as well as more pragmatic decisions, what we call "human
wisdom" will reach new levels. This will open gateways to enhancing our
access to data, deeper analyses, and the ability to plan and prioritize. (Page
25) explains it best Digital wisdom arises the combination of the mind and
digital tools; what the unenhanced mind loses by outsourcing it will more than
make up by the wisdom gained.
Chapter
3. ~ Students the Net Generation, and Digital Natives
– Accounting for Educational Change by Chris Jones
“The
existence of an environment (the world within to a world outside or as we know
it) infused with digital and networked technologies (such as the young and the
old), combined with an active engagement in these new technologies, leads
directly to sharp generational break. Sums up chapter one and two. Does it
really matter what name classification are being given to young people who are
active or advanced users of the digital age
Chapter
4. Disempowering by Assumption “Digital Natives” and
the EU Civic Web Project
By:
Shakuntala Banaji
People
integrate new media and technology into the ensemble of their existing media
practices, and into the process and relationships of daily life. While media do
possess particular potentialities or affordances, these will be realized (or
not realized) in different ways by different people in different social
context. (Page 63)
Chapter
8. Beyond Google and the “Satisficing” Searching of
Digital Natives
By:
Gregor E. Kennedy and Terry s. Judd
Quote – “In Line with Eistenberg (2008) defines
information literacy as “the set of skills and knowledge that allows us to
find, evaluate, and use the information we need, as well as to filter out the
information we don’t need” Page 123.
I remember Victoria coming to night class with you occasionally at the Folklife Center; she’d pass the time using her headphones and a laptop or tablet. Now I know what she was doing those evenings! Interestingly, my interviewee didn’t want to make up a pseudonym either, and asked me to select one instead.
ReplyDeleteVictoria’s use of technology was what I’d deem fairly typical of someone that uses it daily, I doubt most of us are actively creating content on a daily basis. The fact that she didn’t cite any instances of creating content in the classroom either, aside from typing papers, wasn’t completely surprising. However, it was interesting to note that when you asked her how she’d like to use computers in the classroom, she suggested that they were already using them to their potential.
The young girl that I interviewed didn’t cite creating any content either, until I brought up the DIY tutorials that she records herself. What I realized was that she didn’t say so before because I asked about her computer usage, and she uses her smartphone to film and edit her videos. I bring this up because I wonder if some youth view computers as something to assess information, engage in social media, or play games and not to create content. Smartphones, in some instances, make it easier to create content with built in cameras, recorders, and a plethora of apps to edit and share them.