Comment on: By closing the "Digital Divide" will students become technologically literate?

Bigthink — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:33:00 +0100

cosmos, I think you are correct. Just because students know how to download music and interact via social networks doesn't necessarily award advanced levels of literacy to them. Many of the so-called digital natives don't have a clue about how and why their computers do what they do. Many have bypassed computer security for social expediency.

But don't forget, a major educational goal is to allow students to learn the ability of critical thought. Technology for technology sake isn't always the best teaching aid. Throwing technology at a badly taught course only makes it worse.

Comment on: By closing the "Digital Divide" will students become technologically literate?

Bigthink — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:11:07 +0100

Technological-literacy comes much like learning to use a knife-and-fork -- if the tools are there, the process "just happens".

I believe in the OLPC project, for this very reason. The participation of a teacher may often be a luxury.

To have maximum impact, an education-system must build upon experiences outside the school environment. In many western-societies, there is a reasonable-level of computer-literacy, and this creates opportunities to further develop technological-literacy.

[ The distinction between computer-literacy and technological-literacy could be a topic for another thread. I do not believe they are the same. ]

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Comment on: By closing the "Digital Divide" will students become technologically literate?

Comment on: By closing the "Digital Divide" will students become technologically literate?