Digital Native or Immigrant?

Prior to taking the quiz and reading the information on the website I believed I was a digital native. I grew up with the internet, AIM, MTV, and computer/game console games. I have three siblings and we all shared a computer up until I was in Middle School when we were required to have laptops. My school was trying to go digital and thought it was important for the students to have the necessary skills to thrive in an ever-changing digitalized world.

After taking the quiz I learned that I knew four out of the six terms they asked. I had absolutely no idea what modding or smart mobs were. I'm still having trouble with the definitions they provided, and I don't think I completely understand what they are. This makes me feel like I am not as up to date on the new technology or their terms as I thought I was, therefore I'm a digital native but not an expert. I learn new things every day, but I would not consider myself an expert in the field.

According to Tompkins, emergent literacy is, "Children's early reading and writing development before conventional reading and writing" (pg.509). In the case of emergent digital literacy I believe I had all of the necessary tools to make me digital literate before going into the "real world". In school we had typing classes and I received top marks. I know the only reason I was such a fast and accurate typer is because I was on AIM constantly talking to my friends and teaching my self the basics of typing. I was always computer literate and I was the one to show my mom how to use the computer and check/send e-mail. Without having these experiences at home I believe I would have been a lot more frustrated at school during computer time because I would not have known what I was doing. Luckily, in my school we had computer lessons and students who were not familiar with computers were taught how to use them. I was also exposed to various other forms of technology I did not use at home such as powerpoint and excel and I'm grateful I am so literate in regards to those two programs because I use them a lot in many of my classes. 

Much like children who need parents to read to them every day and constantly speak and interact with them in order for them to become more literate, children need exposure to technology to function in this now digital based world. In class we are exploring multiple ways to use technology including Wiki, powerpoint, and scrapbooks, and I believe this would be a great project to use in the classroom with any subject to get students more familiar with the various digital tools that are available. It is very important to have access to these tools in the classroom so students can become digital natives and up to speed with a technology driven world.