The Case of Digital Literacy

Deconstructing Digital Natives Chapter 7:
"Not all young people are digitally competent, nor are they all interested in every aspect of the new media (Livingstone, 2009)."-Ola Erstad, p. 99
I must say that I do agree with this statement.  Just because a person is born into a digital age does not mean that they are interested in the new media.  One of my fellow classmates pointed this out in last week's blog posting; young people still need to be taught the information to use some technology and digital media.  We are not born with a set of instructions that automatically makes us fluent in all aspects of the new media.  As Ola Erstad also said, "My interest is mainly in the role of education in creating the learning environments needed for providing all children and young people with the competencies needed to become literate in a digital culture and enhance their everyday knowledge, experiences, and skills." (Deconstructing Digital Natives, p.106).  It is up to all of us as educators to ensure that we are creating the appropriate learning environments needed for providing students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in the digital age.

Deconstructing Digital Natives Chapter 8:
"According to the 2009 ECAR study, 87 percent of students rate themselves as either early (ahead of their peers) or mainstream (on a par with their peers) adopters of new technologies."-Gregor E. Kennedy, Terry S. Judd, p.121
As you keep reading this section of Chapter 8 it continues to say that this data has to do with using social networks.  Using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are quite easy in my opinion, especially for teens and young adults.  As time moves forward there are more parents and grandparents joining Facebook.  My grandmother just recently joined and she doesn't seem to have much trouble navigating it.  I do agree that students are mainstream adopters of new technologies but that doesn't mean that they know everything about every new piece of new technology that gets released.  Some technologies are easier to work with than others.

Deconstructing Digital Natives Chapter 9:
"The expectations regarding youngsters' participation in the information society builds upon stereotypes both in relation to the image of youth and that of technology."-Sheila Zimic, Rolf Dalin, p.139
This is what bothers me about the "Digital Natives" metaphor.  A stereotype is building around our youth and the use of technology that isn't quite accurate.  Referring back to my first quote from Chapter 6, just because a person is born into a digital age does not mean that they are interested and competent in the new media.  One of my fellow classmates also made a comment in last week's blog post about stereotyping youth and technology.  Technology can be used for so many wonderful things and that is what we need to teach our youth.


Let's consider the role of schooling in the development of young people's digital literacies.  I personally feel as if teachers should be responsible for the development of digital literacy in students. Digital literacy is important because it supports the development of academic reading and writing practises.  Just like Ola Erstad said in Chapter 6 is that we should be creating the environments needed for providing students with the competencies needed to become literate in a digital culture.  As an educator it is my role to create these learning environments for my students so that they will have the skills and knowledge to be able to use the new technologies appropriately and safely.  I use quite a bit of technology in my classroom and my students need to know about the technology before they can participate.  If a student is unable to use the technology appropriately then they lose their privileges.  Simple as that.

We need to ensure that we are teaching our youth to use the Internet and new media for the correct reasons.  If not, they will become obsessed with social media and online sites.