Beyond the 'digital natives' debate: Towards a more nuanced understanding of students' technology experiences
S. Bennett & K. Maton
A shift in education is necessary and inevitable according to the article beyond the digital natives debate. As society changes so do the educational needs of our students. This new generation of students, ‘digital natives’, are constantly connected to information and others and are born into a society surrounded by technology. We as teachers therefore need to provide adequately for these students in the classroom. As a student teacher I don’t want my students to experience two different worlds; one at school and one at home.
In order to move education forward one possible solution the article highlighted is to make education similar to a student’s everyday life. Education is a major contributor to a child’s life in so by integrating technology into the learning and teaching process I believe schools could offer more to our students. However, understandably some educators are still yet to be convinced due to the lack of evidence to the contribution of technology. It is obvious to me as a beginning teacher that we cannot possibly cater for the needs of our students if we ourselves do not understand them. In saying that I consider technology to be a great teaching tool however, if it is not implemented effectively it can hinder a child’s academics. For instance, everyday technology activities may not prepare students for academic practices such as information seeking strategies will not be useful in tasks requiring critical and reflective thinking. Thus, as a beginning teacher I believe in the need to research and understand technology in depth before its integration in a classroom.
The term ‘digital natives’ relates to the understanding that students have not changed; it is the medium on which they express themselves that has changed. All students are unique and as a result their experiences with technology will differ. Contrast to the popular belief there are actually significant variations in the ways students use technology. For instance, the frequent access students have to technology the more likely they are to use it, in turn depicting what they experience. The article highlighted that most students have their own mobile phone and laptop, in so students are becoming increasingly surrounded by technology in their daily lives (home and school). A student’s home life does contribute to a child’s technology experiences. As the article points out the location, rules and value placed upon technology for either educational or recreational purposes will affect a child’s perception of technology. For example, a child who plays only games on a computer will generally enjoy technology however; a child who uses technology for solely educational purposes may view technology negatively. Thus, as a teacher it is extremely important to provide enjoyable and safe experiences.
In order to better provide for our students we need to firstly understand their lives. Technology is a major factor in a child’s everyday life in so, to gain a better understanding we need to begin here. The article highlights the importance of focusing on the activities technology provides rather than the amount of time technology is used. For instance, students may join in activities such as communication, research or design. Although, one section of the article did capture my attention; the most frequent activities included accessing information through the Internet, whereas the less frequent activities included content creation (creating audio and video). This did change my previous stereotypical perception. As well as this, understanding the way students use technology can also facilitates the changes in students. For instance, the article expressed higher levels of younger students participated in game playing than teenagers. The generational label ‘digital natives’ generally facilitates the idea that all the students are likely to posses the same characteristics. However, this is highly untrue. The article changed my perception and pointed out that students are still categorised into groups; such as the ‘digital pioneers’, ‘creative producers’ and ‘everyday communicators’. This signals to me that there are still individual attributes among students. I believe through having the ability to understanding what students are using technology for will enable me to decide what type technology will best suit my class.
Reference:
Bennett, S., Maton, K. & Kervin, L. (2008). The 'digital natives' debate: A critical review of the evidence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(5), 775-786.
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Great article, really convincing
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