Digital Generation vs. Analogic School. Digital Skills in the Compulsory Education Curriculum

Abstract

Educational paradigms existing are currently being shaken by new skills, connected devices and digital tools, forcing education to consider the opportunities that technology offers and the digital competences that it implies. The study presented shows empirical evidences on how students are developing these skills in informal scenarios, spending much time on the Internet, while, these competences, even being recognized by legislation with equal importance than others, are not being developed by educational system in Spain. The research is applied on a sample of 678 Primary School students and the main scope is analysing the use and frequency of use of ICT and its degree of integration into everyday activities in informal scenarios. Ex-post-facto methodologies are used through quantitative techniques, an ad hoc questionnaire has being designed as a tool for data collection. Results point to a generation of students who have acquired digital skills before having fully acquired the reading-writing skills. Data collected evidence, as well, that students use all kind of devices, surf the Internet, take pictures, edit them, download applications and search for tutorials in You Tube. Taking into account the results obtained the curricular inclusion of digital competence beyond its legal descriptive recognition is proposed.