After watching the video by David White I would consider myself somewhere between both worlds, but probably more in the visitor world. The reason for this is that I primarily see the internet as a collection of tools, not as a place to go to socialize. When I think of socializing, I think of sharing a drink with my colleagues at the local pub, playing videogames with my friends online, or going to a party with my wife. I don't think of putting a collection of posts and information about myself and ideas that I have on the internet in order to connect with others who share similar interests.
However, more and more I see that this is where our society is going, especially amongst teens and young adults. As an educator who will be spending the next several decades in the educational environment teaching this age group, I believe it is important for me to have a strong presence on the internet to help me connect better with my colleagues and with my students. I need to be able to relate to them in a format they are comfortable with, I need to share with them what I know about thoughtful and responsible use of the internet, and I need to learn from them as inevitably they will pass me up at some point and will be able to teach me a thing or two.
Not only this, I also realize how important the internet can be to helping me run a more effective classroom. Using a social website (tool) like Moodle will help me establish an online environment my students can go to so they can socialize, do assignments, check missing work, and so on. Teaching and reaching out to students doesn't have to be limited to just the classroom anymore and it would be a waste for me to not take advantage of something like this. Teachers should always be looking for and willing to do whatever it takes to help their students (excepting anything illegal of course).
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