Digital immigration: practicing my non-regional diction.

Confession: I am a technology immigrant. 8-bit Nintendo: did not purchase one until I was 24 years old. Typing: learned on one of those typewriters with the letters on metal sticks that swing toward the paper with enough force to stamp ink onto the manually-inserted sheet of paper. Telephone: when I was 13 I graduated from an antique dial-phone to the transparent-plastic neon wire telephone that Kelly Kapowski had on “Saved by the Bell.” But, as limited as my technological beginnings may seem, I have had the advantage of maturing amidst the evolution of technology, and connecting quite intimately with it (I eventually cemented my typing skills on a Tandy computer!). I love the idea of likening technology fluency to speaking with an accent, in that “…to adapt to their environment, (people) always retain, to some degree, their "accent," that is, their foot in the past” (Prensky, 2001); my only hope is to emulate Veronica Corningstone, Christina Applegate’s character in “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” and “practice my non-regional diction.”

My dream is to truly connect with my students, and teach them in ways that benefit them as much as possible. To realize this dream, I must ditch the New England accent that occasionally creeps in, and master this non-regional diction.
During high school, the technology in the classroom consisted of a blackboard with the available option of a pull-down projector screen OR a map of the world. Some teachers had overhead projectors with which they could display transparencies, but that was rather rare. College was more of the same; I remember preparing a lesson about how gender roles progress over the life span, and handing the guy at the copy shop a 3 ½” floppy disk so that he could print my picture of Blanche Devreaux from “The Golden Girls” onto a transparency in black and white. I literally remember my first powerpoint presentation, a guest lecturer in my statistical design class talking about statistics specific to psychological research. I was blown away; this lecturer had truly accepted the challenge to “…engage them at their level, even with the old stuff, the stuff we all claim is so important, that is, the “curriculum.” (Prensky, 2006) I needed to learn the statistical component of psychology to be effective, but she created a visual presentation that truly flowed, and kept the students rapt. It was a poignant taste of technology in the classroom, but I actually learned more about technology once I exited the academic environment.

War is fought with powerpoint. Literally. Top-secret war exercises that challenge the strategic and tactical capabilities of the world’s most powerful leaders are actually hours-long powerpoint presentations in which high-ranking military members quake in fear as they deliver visuals of bad news to even higher-ranking military members. But what a great classroom to learn the subtleties of visual technology! Don’t tell anybody I told you this, but one of the actual scenarios I entered into the war exercise database I maintained was an exploding soda machine, except the person who wrote it called it a pop machine. I had to create training materials that appealed to all of my new Sailors, embracing those from the heart of the Mississippi Delta as well as those from the center of the Bronx. If I learned anything in this environment, it is that technology unites learners; I was a technology immigrant teaching to a group of technology natives, and I learned quickly that “…if Digital Immigrant educators really want to reach Digital Natives – i.e. all their students – they will have to change.” (Prensky, 2001). I made all of my material about my Sailors, for my Sailors, which resulted in very successful training. The next step was trying to convince my salty old comrades that this was a valid venture…that was not very successful.

I have embraced the evolution of technology, but I still speak with an accent, because I have only experienced the revolution from an immigrant’s perspective. I will do my best to overcome the generational difference…for my students’ sake.