Visitors and Residents

I think each generation has its own set of differences and challenges compared to the last, but perhaps mine and the prior gen experienced a particularly significant leap in terms of internet technology. Having grown up with older parents, who often relied on me to master technologies in order to help them, I would say I have grown familiar and comfortable with online environments. Indeed, Dr. White might call me a ‘resident,’ that is, someone who is familiar with the internet in a way that they treat it as a connected set of individuals.  This is opposing the view of a ‘visitor’ that is, someone who sees the internet as an arsenal of tools.     
As a frequent roadtripper, this duality is easy to digest. When I’m visiting a new place, I’m not integrated with the community; I see the sights and have surface-level interactions. No trace of me but photographs and memories. Of course, as I visit some place more and more, I become increasingly integrated and recognized. Traveling throughout the internet is no different; some sites are just used as tools, but if you dig in, you become part of these connected communities and contribute to the co-mingling content. Might I say that Dr. White’s conclusions are somewhat obvious then? It isn’t all surprising that familiarity leads to greater understanding and the only way to build confidence is to practice.     

​If I were to place myself somewhere on this continuum, I’d have to ask, “For what site?” Limiting the idea of visitor or resident to the internet as a whole does not quite cut the mustard for me. Let’s take Facebook for example - I would say I am a regular upstanding citizen here, contributing and posting content constantly, but some competitive gaming forum might just be a tool to examine strategies, never participating in discussion. Whether these are conscious decisions or not, bridging that confidence gap will be important as an educator interacting with a wide variety of new educational tools.