Beyond Digital Natives

Chapter 10: “While it is clear that many young children are indeed competent users of such texts, this study indicates that there can be substantial variance in the ways in which young children interact with technologies across the boundaries of home and school settings” (Thomas, p.163).

I completely agree with this quote from Chapter 10 in our book. Every person could be exposed to the same technology at home and at school, but there are always going to be differences on how they understand and interact with it.  Every one learns differently so why should interacting with technology be any different. A lot of people could play the same game, but they are always going to have different strategies and interactions with that game compared to others.

Chapter 11: “In particular, educators must be aware of the different types of opportunities and technology experiences students have had” (Thomas, p.177).

We really have to take into consideration what students have at home when it comes to looking at their technology resources. We need to have an idea of what they have been exposed to at their home to help them at school. Not everyone has the same home environment and all of the same technology outlets. We, as educators, know that we have to use different strategies to help all of our students learn the same concept. Teaching them to become digital literate is going to be the same way. We have to find a way that helps them understand and learn how to use technology the best way.

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” (Thomas, p.201).

This quote was very inspiring to me, because I think that it is our job to help our students become successful in the 21^st century. We need to create the path for them and help them learn the correct ways to use technology and how to become digitally literate.  We need to provide our students with the right tools to help them when it comes to navigating through technology. We need to make sure that all of our students become strong information seeking scholars.

These last three chapters have really told me what being “digital literate” and “digital native” really means. It really doesn’t matter when you were born, but how you use the technology resources that you have been given. There are pros and cons to being digitally inclined in today’s world, but that’s with everything in life. Chapter 12 says, “We identify digital natives as a population, and not a generation, of young people who use technology in relatively advanced ways” (Thomas, p.188).

I chose this Meme because it goes along with my quote from Chapter 12. Educators must help our students become successful with using technology resources that we have at our fingertips and we must take advantage of all of the tools that we have.