Introduction to Digital Technology

Abstract

The use of digital technologies in education has been widely advocated (Aldrich, 2004; Quinn, 2005), and institutions such as the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA, 2003) strongly encourage the adoption of information technology in teaching and learning. These technologies are most commonly employed by students, who use digital technologies for both academic learning and entertainment (Tien & Fu, 2008), primarily develop digital literacy skills outside formal education (Ito et al. 2008) and are able to easily use unfamiliar technologies. Prensky (2001) adopted the term ‘digital natives’ to refer to students who have grown up in the realm of digital technologies and are fluent in them. Those who have not grown up in this environment and who may adopt these technologies are referred to as ‘digital immigrants’. The concept is similar to the notion of the ‘Net Generation’ (Tapscott, 1998). This does not, however, preclude other non-native students, often targeted by widening participation schemes, from adopting these technologies. Intergenerational differences in the perceived usefulness and importance of digital technologies are minimal (Salajan, Schonwetter, & Cleghorn, 2010), and some researchers have questioned the assumed divide between digital natives and digital immigrants (Waycott, Bennett, Kennedy, Dalgarno, & Gray, 2010).