Prensky argues that this generation of student “have changed radically”⁶ from students of previous generations. These new technologies have exposed Digital Natives to what Prensky calls “twitch speed”⁷ thinking.

Twitch speed thinking requires the learner's mind to move at an accelerated rate; the type of speed that is essential during video games, action films and MTV where the viewer is exposed to "more than 100 images a minute".⁸ But more than that, Prensky argues that this generation of kids, as a result of exposure to this new technology, has developed the ability to do a variety of tasks simultaneously. They are uber-multitaskers.

Extended contact to this type of stimuli, Prensky believes has resulted in Digital Native's brains becoming rewired and as result they think differently than Digital Immigrants. Prensky bases his claims "on the latest research in neurobiology"⁹ which shows that prolonged exposure to stimuli "of various kinds actually changes brain structures and affects the way people think".¹⁰ Prensky acknowledges that this type of physiological change does not happen overnight.

These types of changes to the brain are the result of multiple experiences over a long period of time, similar to the types of experiences Digital Natives have every day using their computer, video game, or any other type of technology that requires twitch speed. Prensky argues this change to the way Digital Natives think, has resulted in a dissonance between how Digital Natives learn and how they are actually being taught.

Want to know more about
Digital Natives?


Read Marc Prensky's article:
Digital Natives, Digital
Immigrants - Part 2