Bursting the Myth of the Digital Native

By CIOReview | Friday, June 14, 2019

FREMONT, CA: Some might find an issue with the term “digital native” as it can be a clichéd overgeneralization for a whole cohort, but, there is a fiber of truth to the generational moniker. Essentially, digital natives are citizens born during the advent of immersive digital technologies and who possess a culture of global connectivity. The current generation has made digital literacy quite tricky for educators. The contemporary educational technology still spins around industrialization, positioning the subjects considered most useful at the top and discouraging students from skills like art, music, and literature.

The world has altered since industrialization, and the teaching system needs to change. In place of one-size-fits-all education, the focus needs to be shifted on intelligence that is both dynamic and distinct. Digital natives are pushing educators to reorganize the ways they teach, compelling the world into a modification in education. Technology is at the center of this revolution, redefining the responsibilities of teachers and students. While technology opens so many educational doors, improving digital literacy, it also ushers in new challenges. Digital natives are unable to judge or properly maneuver the plethora of information accessible at their fingertips. Students should be taught how to appropriately use technologies by integrating information and digital literacy lessons into the prospectus.

Solutions and Issues:

A range of resources are available for educators to incorporate the new educational prospects into their current curriculum. For example, a standard training method is to engage with youngsters when teaching instead of didactically promulgating a set of principles on them. Brief information on digital literacy sessions using a resource based on currency, authority, reliability, and purpose―is an uncomplicated way to acquaint students with the fundamentals of information.

First, educators need to familiarization on information and digital literacy. It is necessary that teachers are imparted professional insights to make their students prosper in their research pursuits. As educators, teachers must embrace the shifting landscape of education and push the digital natives to their fullest potentiality in all subject locales and prepare students for critical thinking.