Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Digital natives all at sea
Being in the Black Country Museum I noticed that everyone my age and older was going, 'Oh, we had one of those'.. for instance the dollies and mangles in the washhouses. The sweetshop had the right sweets too. Even where we didn't remember exactly- like the earth closets and the pigs in the pig sties- we knew about them. (In fact I do remember that the cottages near our house in the village in Norfolk where I grew up did have earth closets and a night soil lorry even in the late 1960s.) The kids there, though, looked completely bemused.
This reminded me that a few weeks back in North Wales we overheard some teenagers speculating about what would happen when the queen died- 'so do they have to collect in all the moneywith her head on and melt it down then?'. The students I was with thought this was funny but even they are too young to remember pre-decimal coins, even as substitute 10p and 5p pieces, as an everyday experience.
Is this a role reversal situation- so Prensky's digital natives are going to feel much more at sea in such museums than we digital immigrants? is there a clear dividing point where the change has happened? or has the sun got to me? And does it matter?
Being in the Black Country Museum I noticed that everyone my age and older was going, 'Oh, we had one of those'.. for instance the dollies and mangles in the washhouses. The sweetshop had the right sweets too. Even where we didn't remember exactly- like the earth closets and the pigs in the pig sties- we knew about them. (In fact I do remember that the cottages near our house in the village in Norfolk where I grew up did have earth closets and a night soil lorry even in the late 1960s.) The kids there, though, looked completely bemused.
This reminded me that a few weeks back in North Wales we overheard some teenagers speculating about what would happen when the queen died- 'so do they have to collect in all the moneywith her head on and melt it down then?'. The students I was with thought this was funny but even they are too young to remember pre-decimal coins, even as substitute 10p and 5p pieces, as an everyday experience.
Is this a role reversal situation- so Prensky's digital natives are going to feel much more at sea in such museums than we digital immigrants? is there a clear dividing point where the change has happened? or has the sun got to me? And does it matter?
# posted by Mary Plain @ 4:54 pm 
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I DORE those conversations of 'do you remember when?'
For example, do you remember 'wet look shoes' and wet look macs? The shoes were made partly of foam.
Do you remember Kodak Instamatic cameras with a four flash bulb for 5.99 from Boots?
Do you remember jamboree bags?
For example, do you remember 'wet look shoes' and wet look macs? The shoes were made partly of foam.
Do you remember Kodak Instamatic cameras with a four flash bulb for 5.99 from Boots?
Do you remember jamboree bags?
and yes, I remember them well..
especially wet look shoes and macs.. I was working on Saturdays in Littlewoods (note v advanced equality and diversity, employing a bear!) and they sold those fake sock things to wear over your shoes to make it look like you had wet look boots.
especially wet look shoes and macs.. I was working on Saturdays in Littlewoods (note v advanced equality and diversity, employing a bear!) and they sold those fake sock things to wear over your shoes to make it look like you had wet look boots.
wet look shoes/boots? was I born in a different era or geographical location? I don't remember them... or jamboree bags. But I do remember kagools and Humphreys... any takers?
My first style statement was a dangly belt (with a little metal clip and then it dangled down)
My first style statement was a dangly belt (with a little metal clip and then it dangled down)
Yes, Simply Clare, you are a child to us. This was circa 1970.. and jamboree bags go back still further. Maybe you are a digital native! Kagouls were anoraks when I were a cub.. in quilted diamond pattern nylon, very tasteful. Fortunately no photos of me in mine survive.. my mum made it for me as a reward for passing the 11 plus..
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