Though the three students that were being examined were born slightly more technologically advanced due to their environment, it does not change their responses to digital technology. How digital technology is used is "in the eyes of the beholder". It all has to with what it means to the user; in some cases it can be a means to an end or a way of self-expression. Some can see it as a punishment an educator gives or as an opportunity for them to do something spectacular.
Chapter 11: "The clear disparity between the confidence with which claims about a new generation of “Digital Native” students have been made and the lack of empirical evidence to support such claims raises the question of why they have gained such currency."
This statement I found very interesting because it addresses a large problem that has always been. The acceptance of information without evidence of it being true or false. This is why you can't believe everything you read on the internet. Not that this problem started with the internet, but it is more easily spread; of course this also makes it more easily dis-proven because of how fast information spreads.
Chapter 12: "With the help of our children and our students, we can design and craft a much better information environment not just for today's youth, but for society at large and for future generations."
It might be a bit cliche to use the last line in a book, but I think that the final statement is the most powerful of the entire book. It is the answer we have been waiting for the entire novel. For this book the message is clear and hopeful. There is a mission to be taken up in this statement and the responsibility is ours.
It is amazing that formal schooling does not explicitly teach digital literacy when most have a computer science class that student are required to take. Making this class more into a digital literacy would be much more effective than just working with typing and Microsoft Office.
Cliche or not, I love that you used that last quote! I think it is missing something, though. It should read, "With the help of our children and students and the effort of educators, we can design and craft a much better information environment...." We, as educators, have a major responsibility to show our students that if they learn to use new technologies, other that Facebook, SnapChat, etc., they have unlimited knowledge and opportunity at their fingertips. The problem is that this must be a two-way street. Students must be willing to try and learn new things and forms of digital media, and educators must be willing to take the time to introduce new technologies and show their students how to use them in order to hep them grow in this digital generation.
ReplyDeleteI liked your comment "Not that this problem started with the internet, but it is more easily spread; of course this also makes it more easily dis-proven because of how fast information spreads." The internet has made it easy to spread "gossip" and rumors, even about issues in education. There have always been people who make it their business to publicize the business of others in an unfounded way. But you're right, it's also true that the internet can be used to disprove things that aren't factual. Too bad it doesn't happen that way very often!
ReplyDeleteI also loved that last quote from the book, too. We really do need to look to the children and the students to figure out what the needs are, and how we can educate them for the world they will live in, not the world we come from.
Your meme is great. Very clever and funny, and sure does make it sound stupid that we don't give a lot of attention to digital literacy in schools!