Mapping Digital Spaces

Living in a Digital World and I am a Digital Girl

Our lives are more and more being played out in front of a screen.  We are able to do almost everything from behind our computers or via the smart phone in our pocket. Just as computers and the internet have grown over the years, so has our interactions with it.  Technology touches so many aspects of our lives and we also shape and change those digital spaces we interact with.



David White proposes the framework that there are "visitors" and "residents" as the way we interact technology.  These are not labels for the people using technology, but a spectrum of the way we use it.  Visitors use the internet as a tool and leave little or no presence behind.  Residents see the internet as a series of spaces that the occupy, share with people there and leave a presence through photos, blog posts, or videos.  White also shares how this usage can change be different between out personal and professional lives. We can 'map' out our digital use.

Melissa's Digital Map Image Sources: Google Images

This was an eye opening exercise for me.  I expected to be more heavily a 'resident' but when I truly thought about it, that was not the case. I think of myself as spending a lot of time online and using technology, but I never really evaluated how I was using my technology.  I use social media like Facebook and Instagram to stay in touch with friends and family, but I have private accounts and I don't follow very many work related accounts.  I am unsure if I will continue with this blog or the website we are creating so I didn't want to put them too far on the 'resident' side of the spectrum.   I think of myself as more of a digital native, even if I'm technically too old, because I grew up with technology and feel completely comfortable using it, even prefer it in some cases.  This exercise has made me realize that the way I use technology is very different than perhaps the way my children, and the way the students I teach will grow up using it.

Dave White, Visitors and Residents
Marc Prensky, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants