1. Young learners and technology? Surely kids already know more about technology than I do!
We’ve all heard apocryphal stories (and even watched the YouTube videos) of 12-month-old babies using iPads, and often heard the sentiment that ‘young people are good with technology’ expressed by parents and teachers. The myth of the ‘digital native’ (those who are born in the age of technology and are therefore supposedly ‘good’ with it) and the ‘digital immigrant’ (those who came to technology later in life and are therefore less confident with it) is alive and well. However, it is exactly that – a myth. There are plenty of young people out there who may be confident with technology, but are not particularly savvy users. And equally, there are plenty of older people who are proficient users of technology. The terms digital native and digital immigrant were coined by Marc Prensky back in 2001 and, at the time, they seemed to capture a certain zeitgeist. But they are questionable terms to use these days.
2. If youngsters are not ‘digital natives’, then what are they?
In my view, flexible terms like David White’s digital residents and digital visitors are more appropriate, and less age-biased. Digital residents are those who ‘live’ online and have regular social interactions online and an established digital presence. Digital visitors, on the other hand, go online only now and again for specific tasks, such as to buy a book or to send an email. Most of us use technology to some extent these days, whatever age we are.
3. What does this mean for teachers of young learners?
The myth of the digital ‘native’ versus ‘immigrant’ means that teachers often feel they have nothing to teach their students about technology. They often expect their students automatically to be skilled at using technology appropriately. This is simply not the case. Try showing your teenage students a spoof website, such as the one describing the Pacific Northwest tree octopus, and see what reaction you get. Teenagers will often believe everything they read online. In this case, we, as adults with more developed critical thinking skills, can show our students how to assess the validity and provenance of information on the web. If you’d like to try out a tree octopus lesson with learners aged about 14+, you’ll find a detailed lesson plan at http://goo.gl/88YlqN.
We need to help younger learners understand essential issues such as how to stay safe online (e-safety), how to search safely, and what sort of behaviour is appropriate (and inappropriate) on social networks such as Facebook. We need to make them aware of cyberbullying and how to confront it. We need to help them become responsible citizens in an increasingly online world. All these examples are essential digital literacy skills that can be integrated into our language classes if and when we use technology.
4. Can you give me some examples of how to work with young learners and technology?
How you use technology with your young learners depends on their ages.
- Very young learners are still developing fine motor skills such as drawing or learning to write, and there are ways that certain technologies (such as touchscreen tablet apps) can help with this.
- Pre-teens can learn to search for and evaluate information on the web (see the tree octopus example mentioned above), or create multimedia work with images and videos. You can find a simple activity which involves getting your students to create their own version of the ‘Carry on’ meme at http://goo.gl/m4ps0O.
- Older teens can discuss appropriate and inappropriate behaviour on social networks, using discussion prompts such as those available at http://goo.gl/88YlqN. Or you can get them reading QR codes, as a springboard for integrated skills work – see http://goo.gl/xutCAg for a lesson plan.
5. Do I have to use technology with my young learners?
Probably the most important point to make is that any use of technology needs to be integrated into your lessons, and it needs to support your language aims. There is clearly no point in using technology for technology’s sake. Unless it enhances the lesson in some way, don’t use it. There is still an important place for pen and paper, and for physical movement, in the young learner classroom. Technology should not take preference over these essential elements. One can teach (and, most importantly, students can learn) perfectly well without having the latest gadgets in the classroom. It’s not about the technology – it’s about the teaching and the learning!
References
Hockly, N ‘The digital generation’ ELT Journal 65 (3) 2011
Prensky, M ‘Digital natives, digital immigrants’ On the Horizon 9 (5) 2001
White, D ‘Not natives and immigrants but visitors and residents’ TALL blog 2008
Nicky Hockly is Director of Pedagogy of The Consultants-E, an online teacher training and development consultancy. Her most recent books are Digital Literacies (Routledge), an e-book: Webinars: A Cookbook for Educators (the-round.com), and Going Mobile (Delta Publishing), a book on mobile learning. She maintains a blog at www.emoderationskills.com.
