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Thoughts on the Education of Digital Natives

 Thoughts on the Education of Digital Natives  

As May comes to a close, I am finishing my 8th year as an educator in the public education system. I have worked as an ELA teacher for grades 6-12, taught Creative Writing and Journalism, and am finishing my second year as a media specialist in a middle school. I consider myself to be a digital native- we got our first computer when I was around 7 or 8 years old. However, I do think my experience with technology has been very different from my students because I have lived through the hyper-speed evolution of technology. Computers look very different now from when we got our first family computer in the early 2000s, but the biggest difference is that most of my students do not start their technology journey with a computer, but with a cell phone.  

One of the biggest gaps in digital education I see at the secondary level is a lack of direct instruction on how to use technology effectively. I think that because our incoming students are presumed to be digital natives who teachers think they will already know how to use all of their programs and technologies intuitively. However, just because they know how to use a cellphone or a tablet does not mean they know how to use a computer. When students come to us in middle school, they are expected to type out their essays and their big standardized test at the end of the year, yet they have never been taught how to actually type. I think this is not fair or equitable- many of our students do not have a computer at home and do not grow up learning how to use one. It is essential to the success of our students that we are teaching them how to effectively use the technology available to them.  

I think this week’s reading Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants made an excellent point about the necessity of teaching the ethics that come along with using technology. If we do not give this instruction, we cannot expect them to use AI for anything other than plagiarism, especially when they are used to having information in a split second. I work in a district that completely opposes the use of AI in the classroom, but I have personally seen a lot of success when I have been able to sit students down and explain how to use AI to help them as an assistant or tutor, rather than just using it to get immediate answers.  

Something I would like to explore more is how to engage students more effectively with ELA curriculums. I have seen a trend in curriculums, like McGraw Hill for example, who use shorter excerpts to analyze instead of entire books and short stories. As a reader and lover of literature, I cannot accept this as an answer. Though their brains work differently I think it is so important for students to have the experience of reading a story they connect with cover to cover (or E-reader page to page.) More on this in my next post!  

Comments

  1. India WoodsMay 20, 2025 at 9:06 AM

    Hi EME6414!!

    I totally agree with you regarding the biggest gaps in digital education at the secondary level is the lack of direction on how to use technology effectively. I think a way to resolve that issue is these students should be introduced to different types of technology in elementary school besides a cellphone. This should be a mandatory skill that kids to learn before advancing to middle school and continuing to learn at home since school is only typically 8 hours out the day.

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  2. nickinickelzJune 1, 2025 at 7:18 PM

    Your perspective as both a classroom teacher and media specialist really highlights the complexity of teaching so-called "digital natives." I have been in the public school system for over 10 years now. I completely agree that the assumption students are tech-savvy because they’ve grown up with devices often masks real gaps in digital literacy, especially when many of them have never had meaningful access to a computer at home. Like you, I’ve seen middle schoolers who are confident on their phones but struggle with typing, using educational software, or even navigating basic file systems. I also appreciate your balanced take on AI. Banning it outright ignores its potential as a learning tool. It's not going anywhere, so rather than fight it, we should be teaching how to use it ethically and thoughtfully. And your comments on ELA curriculum really resonated with me. While short excerpts can teach certain skills, nothing replaces the deep engagement and emotional connection that comes from reading a full story.

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