Digital Natives: Navigating Literate Worlds

Chapter 7: “ In addition, it is important to stress that digital literacy is related to situational embedding, that is, the use of technology within life situations” (Thomas, p.106).

You have to really look at how young people use digital technologies across contexts. We really need to see how students are reading and writing with the development of digital technologies. In school, to be digital literate people need to be able to download information correctly, know how to create the best search for new information, navigate through the Internet, and etc. There are a lot of different aspects that come with being digital literate for younger people today. How people use digital technologies tells us how digital literate they are.  This can be done outside of school as well.  People use digital media in their everyday lives. People go online all of the time to communicate with others, get on YouTube, check their emails, go on news websites, etc.

Chapter 8: “Despite, and in a way because of these findings, most commentators and researchers would support the notion that the rise of the Internet has brought about major changes in many aspects of culture and society” (Thomas, p.122).

I completely agree with this quote from the text. You can do almost everything on the Internet now days.  You can email and communicate with people all around the world via social media. You can create your own videos and websites. You have the option of paying bills online and not have to go into the business and use a check or debit card. You can shop online and not have to worry about leaving your home. You can read books and news articles online and even catch up with the online newspaper. There are so many things that people can do online now that it is crazy. The Internet has changed the way we communicate with others and go about our daily lives.

Chapter 9: “Older citizens tend to feel more obliged to participate in elections and government-centered activities whereas young citizens tend to favor more personally expressive or self-actualizing politics” (Thomas, p.139).

I completely agree with this quote from Chapter 9. I think that if you were to look at and compare the older generation to the younger generation, you would see a gap in online participation in civic and political activities. The older generation wants to vote and take part in everything that is about the government while the younger generation wants to look at creating blogs and taking part that way instead. The older generation is getting more involved with party politics compared to the younger generation who wants to look at more specific issues or topics such as global warming.  The younger generation wants to use more of the Web 2.0 tools such as wikis and blogs to share their expressions. I can see that gap when looking at my students and how the older teachers talk.

I think that it is our job as educators to develop digital literacies. I think that we need to keep up with digital technologies and try and implement them into our classrooms for our students to become successful for the future.  This goes along with the quote that I chose from Chapter 7. Students are gaining knowledge with reading and writing when using digital technologies and they are also gaining more skills while doing it. They are finding articles and blogs to read on their own and by responding to them they are working on their writing skills as well. By creating their own websites they are strengthening their research skills and writing skills to have a strong page for their audience. When I become the librarian next year, I want to teach my students the correct way to use Internet to become successful in school. I want to show them to correct way to search for information and tips that they can remember to help them in the future.

I chose this Meme, because it shows a teacher displaying information on the board for students to see. I think that teachers need to help students gain information seeking skills to help them become successful as students and people in the 21st century. A lot of people just go to ask.com for answers and that does not help them gain information seeking skills rather just gives them the answers. People need to know how to navigate through the internet and find reliable resources and tools that they can use in the future.