Here come my thoughts as part of ONL211 topic 1.

One of the aims of topic 1 is to look at my experiences of digital consumption, communication, collaboration, and creation. So far, I was only familiar with the concept of Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants (Prensky, 2001). According to this concept I’m considered to be a Digital Native. In the past, I assumed that digital skills were somehow innate and – without further reflection – I was confident that I could handle them well. This assumption also couldn’t be the whole truth, of course, as I know a lot of people (considered to be Digital Immigrants) who are much more capable than I am when it comes to using technology and collaborating over the internet.

David White’s introduction to Digital literacy (2021) and his Visitors and Residents approach (2014a) was thus an eye opener. Instead of focusing on technical skills or age he suggests “a continuum of modes of engagement based on motivation to engage”. To visualize this “way of describing the range of ways individuals can engage with the Web” he encourages people to start a V&R mapping process to reflect on and explore their own digital engagement. I went through this process and this is the interim result:

As you can see, as an individual in the digital age, I do use the web, but I do it mostly in visitor mode. Before the ONL course, there was only one place on the web where I was in resident mode as a professional: I used LinkedIn to interact with people, like or comment on their posts, or post things myself. Since the course started, I have taken the plunge. I started working on Miro with colleagues and writing this blog. I set up a Twitter account and participated in Tweetchat. (Speaking of Tweetchat: What an immersive experience!)

As said, White (2014b) talks about visitors and residents as a continuum not two distinct categories. In between, there are endless forms of engagement on the web. Visitors leave no trace online, while residents live part of their lives online and leave a social trace. In future, I am motivated to use Twitter and perhaps this blog too for professional work. Only by leaving social traces can I help shape the future of learning.

References:
White David, 2021: An introduction to Digital literacy. [Recording of the ONL-webinar].
  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Eiz3DRzhs 
White David (a), 2014: Visitors and Residents [Video]. 
  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPOG3iThmRI
White David (b), 2014: Visitors and Residents: Credibility [Video]. 
  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO569eknM6U
Prensky Marc, 2001: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. https://marcprensky.com