--Originally published at Digital Identity
Visitors and Residents: David White, Oxford University.
Today we learn about the visitors vs residents. This guide draws on the findings and methods of the Jisc/OCLC funded digital visitors and residents (V&R) project which is underpinned by an alternative to Prensky’s typing of technology users. Visitors and residents is a simple way of describing a wide range, or continuum of, modes of online engagement.
A visitor sees the web as a collection of tools, which can be used to get things done. Once the task is complete, the visitor will return the tool and leave; leaving no social trace of them online.
A resident sees the web as a series of spaces or places: living out a portion of their life online. They interact with the web, leaving traces that remain.
It is important to that this concept is a spectrum. Each individual will use the web in different ways, socially or academically. Someone who is a resident in their social use of the web, does not necessarily become a proficient user of the web in an institutional way
The web supports the projection of their identity and facilitates relationships. In other words, Residents live a percentage of their lives online. Unlike the Visitor mode, there will be online visibility and presence when in Resident mode. It is very common for individuals to engage online in a mixture of Visitor and Resident modes depending on what they are trying to achieve.
Here is the Interview.
