Beyond Digital Natives

Deconstructing Digital Natives Chapter 10:
"From this position, it could be argued that "digital literacy" describes an ability to skillfully utilize one's knowledge of text construction and analysis (be it paper, digital, popular culture, and so on) in order to continuously develop one's ability to handle digital media."-Rachael Levy, p.153
I must agree with this statement brought about by Rachael Levy.  There are many broad definitions of the term "digital literacy" and I feel as if this may describe it the best.  I do believe that digital literacy is a person's ability to utilize knowledge to develop the ability to handle digital media.  As a teacher, I have to know the material that I am teaching before I can teach it to my students.  It only makes sense that someone would need to have the knowledge of digital literacy before handling digital media.

Deconstructing Digital Natives Chapter 11:
"An important finding emerging from access studies of school-aged children---which are better at capturing a broad cross-section of the population than studies of university students because of the social profile of the latter---is that socioeconomic status is a factor in technology access even in affluent societies (e.g., Aslanidou & Menexes, 2008; Eamon, 2004; Facer & Furlong, 2001; Jenkins, 2009; Livingstone & Helsper, 2007; OECD, 2010; Otto et al., 2005).-Sue Bennet & Karl Maton, p.171
Socioeconomic status plays a major role in technology and the access to technology.  I was not surprised to read about it in this chapter.  I live and teach in a more rural area where there is a lower socioeconomic status, especially with the coal mines shutting down.  I had more students in my class this year that did not have access to Internet at home because their parents could not afford to pay for it.  That is a huge problem when we are so dependent upon iPads and other technology to complete assignments and homework.  It was also more of a problem for me because our school was under a paper shortage and I was unable to run copies of homework assignments for the students.  All of the assignments were uploaded to an app on the students' iPads where they could complete them and send them back for grading.  I feel as if this problem will only get worse with the decline in the economy.

Deconstructing Digital Natives Chapter 12:
"The core idea, what we mean when we talk about digital natives, is to allow a term to describe a subset of today's youth; the manners in which they relate to information, technology, and one another; the problems that arise from some of these practices; and the new possibilities for creativity, learning, entrepreneurship, and innovation (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008, p.15)."-Palfrey & Gasser, p.188
I liked this statement.  We have been discussing Digital Natives for a few weeks now and I think I finally have a true understanding of what it means.  I like the way that Palfrey & Gasser describe the term "Digital Native."  They aren't describing a person; they are describing a state of being.  How the youth relay information, how they learn, how they use technology, etc.  I really enjoyed reading this chapter!

After reading the last few chapters of Deconstructing Digital Natives I now have a better understanding of digital literacy and the digital native.  I think that you need to have the knowledge of digital literacy before you can take on new digital media.  As an educator, I need to ensure that my students possess this knowledge before handling  the technology.  As far as the digital native is concerned, I enjoyed Palfrey & Gasser's description.  I don't like giving labels to certain groups of people or stereotyping certain groups of people.  The digital native, to me, is a state of being instead of being a specific group of people.

The philosoraptor wants us to think about what would happen if we taught digital literacy.  I believe that our youth need to be educated on the concept of digital literacy before they can use the new digital media.