Session 6 - Why should teachers care about digital literacy and childhood in the digital age?

Palfrey & Gasser (2008) describe children who were all born after 1980 as “digital natives”; children with access to digital technologies and the skills to use those technologies. The concerns about the threats to the privacy of children, their safety and education as a result of the digital age, are central to their writing. However, they do well to balance caution with encouragement when it comes to the digital world we now live in (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008).

They highlight teacher’s fear that the skills that they have imparted over time are becoming obsolete, and that the pedagogy of our educational system cannot keep up with the changes in the digital landscape. In short, teachers feel they are out of step with digital natives. However, as Palfrey & Gasser (2008) state, we must put these real threats into perspective; our children and future generations have tremendous opportunities in store for them, because of the digital age. They see promise in the way that Digital Natives are interacting with digital information, and state there are things that we as teachers can do, in order to manage the extraordinary transition to a globally connected society. One solution that they offer to solve those problems includes a good education (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008).  They state that teachers are among those that are on the front line and therefore have the biggest responsibility and the most important role to play in ensuring we harness the good that comes from the digital age (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008). However, they highlight that too often teachers cut themselves off from their digital native children because of the language and cultural barriers, rather than allowing digital natives guide them into the new way of living (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008). As a result, children are using the technologies alone, without any supervision or support. In turn, they are more at risk at the potential threats of the digital age.

Conclusively, Palfrey & Gasser (2008) argue that teachers must care about digital literacy and childhood in the digital age to ensure children have the opportunities to make possible new forms of creativity, learning and innovation. They add, that in order to navigate in this complicated world, young people must learn digital literacy (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008). It is therefore, our jobs as teachers to ensure they are equipped with the skills to do so.

 Bibliography

Palfrey, J. & Gasser, U. (2008) Born Digital. Understanding the first generation of digital natives New York: Basic Books.