What is digital space?
Digital space developed from a concept shared by Marc Prensky’s idea of Digital Native, Digital Immigrants. The theory lacks the idea of adaptation. Building off this idea emerged the concept of digital residents and visitors which refers to different “modes” of online engagement (David White, 2011). The engagement within these digital environments makes us think more of motivation-driven technology use.
Image source: nicfair
Mapping My Digital Space
Am I surprised?
In reflecting on my digital space compared to those I have seen, I am not surprised by my lack of app representation. One thing that does surprise me overall is that time isn’t really a factor of digital mapping. What I find most interesting is the idea of being a digital resident, this idea of seeking out other people for information as a source is relatively new concept (White, 2011). Aside from first-hand accounts, I would never be able to cite information learned from an individual in research paper twenty years ago. Residency requires interaction between community members through a social platform such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc. In the past few years taking courses has required me to comment on blog posts and post responses on Canvas. Before taking these courses, my interactions with people were usually in a more physical sense, communicating via text, email, and phone calls. Rarely do I interact online. I think I was mentioned as a “lurker,” in previous posts which sounds super creepy. I feel like my sense of gaining information usually comes from motivation but I rather tend to be research-based (.org) than a somewhat life hack approach (respectfully). As technology becomes more integrated within our daily lives, information has become more multimodal and has spanned across many mediums. When I think of how I used to find movie times growing up compared to the way I can find movie times now speaks volumes. You can very well find the information you are looking for through a social media outlet, everyone has one. My digital literacy skills vs the new ages of digital literacy skills have changed exponentially because the internet has become so much larger.
Does my digital space status change?
My digital space status isn’t usually constant. Sometimes, I spend more time reading or researching on different apps depending on the task, goal, or mood. I have driven myself crazy trying to recall movie scenes, products, and have turned over every rock researching different appliances. Professionally, I remain constant in the apps usage when I access, down to the time window. What fuels my app status is the motivation and the task I need to accomplish.
What are the apps you frequent most?
Both personally and professionally I spend a lot of time reading online. I like to catch up on the latest news and keep myself current with events happening around the world. I like to see what's trending on the internet, and I like my fair share of celebrity gossip. I google a ton! I am as curious as they come. Things that interest me, motivate me to find out more information. This type of engagement spread me across app land, search engines, videos, articles, etc. I am driven by personal motivation. This statement directly correlated with the concept of digital visitors and residents. What fuels my motivation, determines my engagement.
Why is this important to educators?
In addition to teaching digital literacy and content areas, educators more than ever have to spark curiosity. Inquiry-based learning has grown over the years, the student should be the driver rather than dated teaching approaches. Sources have become multi-modal across many mediums. Students need to navigate a little differently and a teachers responsibility is to help them to do just that. We are guiding the young to be information seekers and problem-solvers of the future. Adaptation is key as we have seen with the shift from “digital natives and digital immigrants” to digital residents and digital visitors.
Thanks for reminding us of the importance of adaptation, especially when it comes to working with students. It would be so interesting to see what their maps look like!
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