Article Reflection

I really liked the article, The New Literacy Crisis: Immigrants Teaching Natives in the Digital Age by Teresa Coffman, Ph.D., Aileen Campbell, Emily Heller, Emily M. Horney, & Lynne P. Slater.

 

It was neat to read about a lot of things we have already discussed in class. There are so many good points in this article, and I’ll point out a couple that really stood out.

 

Coffman et al discuss how “digital natives” have different learning preferences, and it makes sense that “digital natives” may not have digital or information literacy because they are used to the fast results given by technology, and are thus achievement driven. In other words “digital natives” are more concerned with the result than the process. As teachers, we need to help them stop and smell the roses or in our case stop and evaluate the information. The article states that in order to help this growing population, we need to “gain a better understanding of the digital natives…define what it means to be digitally literate; and … learn how to most effectively teach the digital natives.”

 

Since our class has worked so much with digital literacy, I was more curious as to whom these digital natives are. This is where it got interesting! Subgroups are now being identified within the digital native population. These subgroups consist of “power users” and “tweeners”. I think that by understanding who our students are, we can more effectively teach them. Then my thoughts began to wonder…

 

I am still unsure if I am a digital native or a digital immigrant. I remember in elementary and middle school having to do research in the library and hating it. But during my senior year of high school and beyond I have done sooo much research online. Is there a test you can take to see what you are?

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