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  • The Digital Native Fundamental Attribution Error

    By Joshua Kim June 16, 2010 9:04 pm EDT

    I agree with all of Arthur Levine's conclusions in "Digital Students, Industrial-Era Universities."

    Our course designs, teaching methods, and institutional structures need to embody:

    --24/7 (anytime)

    --Location-free

    --Consumer-driven

    --Active learning

    --Concrete

    --New media

    --Learning (interactive)

    --Group (collaboration)

    --Breadth / gatherers

    Where Levine gets it wrong is to assume that this shift is being driven by the demand of digital natives for new methods of teaching and learning. Levine writes that, "Today’s traditional undergraduates, aged 18 to 25, are digital natives. They grew up in a world of computers, Internet, cell phones, MP3 players, and social networking."

    I recommend that Arthur Levine, and all of you, download (buy, whatever) a copy of Clay Shirky's new book Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. Shirky talks about the fundamental_attribution_error, the tendency to explain behaviors as the result of character as opposed to the opportunity structure.

    The demand for innovative, collaborative, and technology mediated active learning techniques is not limited to today's 18 to 25 year olds. In fact, I've seen little evidence that the typical 20 year old college student is actively demanding any form of advanced pedagogical practice. What I have seen is how well the traditional college age student responds to courses that leverage technology to promote active learning, collaboration and engagement. However, I've also witnessed people in their 30, 40, and 50s, and 60s (all adult working professionals that I've taught) respond in the same way.

    All learners benefit from the changes that Levine is advocating for. Students at any age will begin to demand these changes when the structure that they operate in, the classes they take and the institutions they navigate, begin to support the diffusion of advances in teaching methods and student support. Give any student (at any age) a taste of a course that utilizes technology to promote active learning and they will start to demand and expect these benefits in their other courses. We should once and for all leave generational explanations and rationales for change behind.

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Comments on The Digital Native Fundamental Attribution Error

  • Digital Natives
  • Posted by Nancy Rubin on June 17, 2010 at 5:15am EDT

  •  

    I agree with you that the demand for innovation in the classroom is not solely being driven be society's "Digital Natives."

    Seems Levine is drawing on Marc Prensky's articles on Digital Natives. In Prensky's first article, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, he discusses the differences between "Digital Native" students and "Digital Immigrant" teachers. Prensky is a strong proponent of learning via digital games.

    In the second article he discusses how "Digital Natives" today are being socialized in a way that is vastly different from their parents: over 10,000 hours playing videogames, over 200,000 emails and instant messages sent and received; over 10,000 hours talking on digital cell phones; over 20,000 hours watching TV (a high percentage fast speed MTV), over 500,000 commercials seen—all before the kids leave college.

     

    Part 1 - http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

     

    Part 2 - http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf

     

  • NetGen Skeptic
  • Posted by Brian Mulligan , Open Learning Coordinator at Institute of Technology Sligo, Ireland. on June 17, 2010 at 7:15am EDT

  • 25 years of working with undergraduates has made me doubt the 'digital natives' theory. Today's students seem exactly like they always were. This blog is worth following: NetGen Skeptic: http://www.netgenskeptic.com/

  • Posted by Ann , Librarian at St. Bonaventure University on June 17, 2010 at 7:15am EDT

  • I certainly agree with this article, and want to add the following to the discussion.

    Deiss and Petrowski (2009) noted that,

    increased access to sophisticated technological social tools and increased connectivity via smart phones, laptops, and other handheld devices is changing the behavior of several generations; other generations are taking on the characteristics of Generation Y. Frequently cited generational differences are beginning to blur (p. 6).

    Deiss, K., & Petrowski, M. J. (2009, March). ACRL 2009 strategic thinking guide for academic librarians in the new economy. Retrieved from Association of College and Research Libraries website: http://www.ala.org/‌ala/‌mgrps/‌divs/‌acrl/‌issues/‌future/‌acrlguide09.pdf

  • Wrong Dichotomy
  • Posted by aldus , Digital Resources Librarian on June 17, 2010 at 10:15am EDT

  • I have to concur with Joshua Kim.

    As others have already noted, there is a problem with the whole "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" dichotomy and it would seem that we are revisiting some thoughts raised by Dave White over on the TALL Blog (http://tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk/index.php/2008/07/23/not-natives-immigrants-but-visitors-residents/), Andy Powell on eFoundations (http://efoundations.typepad.com/efoundations/2008/09/residents-and-v.html) and Lorcan Dempsey on his weblog (http://efoundations.typepad.com/efoundations/2008/09/residents-and-v.html).

    They all three discuss the use of digital "visitor" and "resident" to express the distinction between those who simply "visit" the technology, but for whatever reason choose not to utilize it in depth, versus those who have set up "residence." They also bring up the issues of volition and attitude in how the technology is used.

    In the US particularly, we do a huge disservice to those who embrace and utilize the tools that are being made available to us, especially when those users don't fit a handy PR/Marketing-friendly demographic. (I believe the term is "ageism.")

    Learning, as Levine has described it, is lifelong.

  • Posted by Kelly Roberts at UCLA on June 17, 2010 at 7:30pm EDT

  • "Give any student (at any age) a taste of a course that utilizes technology to promote active learning and they will start to demand and expect these benefits in their other courses."

    Well, not any student. There are still some anachronisms out there who would rather do the work (the subject matter excites them, apparently) without the interference of moving pixels.

  • Digital Divide
  • Posted by Ofer Zur, Ph.D. , Director at Zur Institute on February 27, 2011 at 5:30am EST
  • Interesting blog. My digital native daughter, Azzia Zur and myself, Ofer Zur, a digital immigrant have just posted an update article, titled ”On Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives: How the Digital Divide Affects Families, Educational Institutions, and the Workplace”available at http://www.zurinstitute.com/digital_divide.html

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