I had been aware of the concept of digital natives, and digital immigrants (Prensky, 2001), and was aware that I was and always would be the latter. So when I initially approached this assignment, I approached thinking that digital immigrant was synonymous with a certain degree of digital ineptitude that I would never be able to overcome. After reading “The Resident Visitor Typology” (White and Le Cornu, 2011) I came to a new understanding, and my the self discovery of the “digital me” was profound, and I am now seeing myself in a new way, and am conscious of trying to keep certain elements of my personal resident-visitor typology hidden, and make others more public.
An Explanation
I am a teacher, and I use a lot of ed-tech. in my classroom, and in my day to day personal and professional life. Tools/spaces like CBC and YouTube are listed twice because the way they are used institutionally varies greatly from their personal use. CBC for example in my personal life, is to the extreme side of resident because I actively comment and engage with article on their site, I could probably move the institutional logo more to the visitor side of things as I don’t generally comment on articles I use in that sphere, but they are out there for all time. The difference in the placement of YouTube, is that in my personal sphere, I am fairly anonymous. I have private playlists, and I do not typically comment on YouTube, once logged off I am a non-entity. Professionally, or institutionally, I have created several public instructional videos, and there I am directly engaging with an audience, and am leaving a digital legacy that will outlast me physically (ominous I know).
Certain applications I would like to be more familiar with in general, but do not have a handle on (hence the reason they are upside-down) are represented where they are based on the lasting digital footprint they leave. I am all too appreciative of the permanence of tweets, despite by inability to effectively harness the space. I hope none reading this will later ask if I have landed yet!
The black hole is a representation of how soul sucking, or brain sucking some of these digital spaces are. Certain spaces (like G+) I see little value in aside from a digital mine of my personal information. Others like Twitter and Facebook suck me in, and in hindsight I should probably add YouTube to the list as one video often turns into ten or twenty, and three hours later where did my evening go? WordPress confounds me and is not as intuitive as everyone on the internet seems to say, and certainly nowhere near as user friendly as Weebly, but it too is something I would like to be more a comfortable representation of my institutional-residential-self.
This activity certainly gave me pause with regard to who I am and who I want to be digitally: something that twenty years ago I would not have thought about for even a second, but that is more important now than I am prepared to admit!
Hi Marshall,
Like you, I was aware of Prenky’s digital immigrants vs digital natives, but never really accepted it as I found in my experience as a faculty trainer in learning with tech that it wasn’t a matter of age, but a matter of the willingness to learn a new skill. The resident visitor typology certainly makes more sense to me…at least until a newer theory comes along!
Also, good call on the social media black hole, that is exactly how I feel about it as well
Hey Marshall!! Wow, you obviously put lots of thought into this!!
Yes, a lot of digital spaces are soul-sucking. I think it’s clever how some people have used Instagram, Twitter, etc., to brand themselves and gain popularity. Think of all the fitness professionals (I use the term very loosely) who have profited from simply posting images–people with and without qualifications suddenly being offered million-dollar contracts to model fitness apparel, for example. For a random user like me, Facebook is a black hole, indeed. It can become obsessive, and I find even things that are interesting to me lose intrigue when I scroll past them. I keep wondering, what am I looking for? I don’t think anything. If it isn’t to talk to people by DM, it’s just a total distraction.
Does the fact that you’re a teacher affect what you post online? In my program, I remember being told not to smoke pot, be publicly drunk, or do anything to sully the reputation of teachers. While I don’t smoke anything, I really don’t drink, and I don’t want to think about all the things that could be viewed as ruining teachers’ reputations, I did find it annoying to be expected to conform to rules in such a way.
Yeah interesting isn’t it all these famous instagrammers and YouTubers? My students talk about these people in the same way that traditional celebrities are/were discussed. You are not hip these days unless you are knowing who the cool YouTubers are, or what the latest Vines are. I feel like if I don’t master these mediums I will be left behind as I try to carve out my digital niche. I am already feeling somewhat unfulfilled in my social media life if a post on FB does not get xa amount of likes, or if my family blog likewise does not get any traffic/comments. There is some room for discussion of ego in all of this digital identity talk for sure!
The fact that I am a teacher SHOULD affect what I post online, and I expect someday it will haunt me that I am not. I have plenty of former students who follow me on Twitter, and are “friends” on facebook. During the election, being a progressive in redneck Alberta, I am sure I alienated/infuriated many with posts just like this one! I have definitely gone back and “tidied up” photos that reveal compromising Marshall, but this is impossible ultimately when you are “tagged” by others. So now, I am mostly leery of photos. And as a parent, I really tried to keep my children off of Facebook forever, but this too proved impossible so I ultimately gave in. It will be interesting. Their whole lives will be documented in a way mine and yours never were. I wonder what effect this will have on them?
I honestly would hate to have my life made so visible and available for judgment…..that looks…..just awful. Constantly seeing yourself through the eyes of a judgmental, faceless group of people who have no actual relevance to your life. No thanks.
I can’t imagine being in a city full of republican type individuals. Many friendships with my American friends have been ended because of the authoritarianism we are seeing in the states.
Also, if this helps, I think it’s okay to add former students and people I work with if they aren’t my students now, and if they retire. Now you’re just adults. Current students/staff? No thanks. Need somewhere to vent about them!! ;P