Digital students are different from the previous generation of students in that they have been relatively ‘immersed’ in the digital environment from the time they are born. Their parents facilitated this immersion by being technology literate and using digital technology in the home. This scenario resembles my generation growing up with television from black and white to color. I could not imagine not having a television and digital students cannot imagine not having their digital tools.
The implications for teachers is that they must keep up or, preferably, stay ahead of the technology curve, and they must become digital students themselves in order to model 21st Century literacy for students. Digital students are still emotionally immature young people and powerful digital tools can cut both ways unless used wisely. This harkens back to my toolbox example because an apprentice can hurt him or herself by not using a particular tool correctly. This risk is mitigated by experience and learning, which is the reason that technology literacy must be joined to information literacy.
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