What do kids think?

Steph and I have been preparing for our presentation on cyberliteracy and the digital divide. I am finding the information a bit overwhelming. The new literacy is multi-faceted. It seems that every source offers a new way to segment the different skills needed to critically engage with the Internet. For example, Carvin (2000) divides literacy into six categories. Breivik (2005) divides ICT proficiencies into seven categories. Armstrong and Warlick (2004) write about the transformation of the 3Rs into the 4Es: exposing, employing, expressing, and ethics.
I decided I needed a real life perspective to inform the articles I was reading. To provide a context, I teach grade 7 and 8 English. Media studies is one quarter of the English curriculum in our province. Kids love learning about media in general, and they love working with computers. They have grown up with them.
When I asked my students if they would mind answering some questions, they were eager; I based these on the issues I encountered while preparing for our presentation. Here they are:

• At what age did you first use the Internet?
  
• What skills do you need to effectively use the Internet?
• What do you do on the Internet?
• What do you think the digital divide is?

Informally, I compiled the results after 45 students in grades 7 and 8 answered my questions.

• The most prevalent age for first-use was 4, with 5, 6 and 7 running a close second. I noticed that boys and students with older siblings tended to start using the Internet earlier.
• The skills my students listed were varied. The majority focused on formal and effective access skills, like typing, opening and closing windows, browsing and operating a mouse. Students also recognized the need to be aware of privacy, safety and reliability issues. In addition, they pointed to requiring the traditional literacy skills of reading and writing. A few students pointed to other communication skills, such as socializing effectively and expressing purpose. I was impressed with their knowledge; however, I also work at a school where my students are relatively privileged and are taught how to engage with ICT. In a different setting, the results would likely be different.
  
• Gaming and researching were the most popular activities expressed in the questionnaire. YouTube, instant messaging, Facebook and emailing were also popular. I noticed that my students used the Internet for similar purposes I do, despite their being roughly one-third of my age.
  
• My students had many ideas about what the digital divide might be. I didn't expect them to know, seeing as I didn't know the term until about 3 weeks ago. Amazingly, some of my students grasped the concept without knowing exactly what it was called. Here are some of the answers I read:

-The divide between those people who use digital devices with ease and people who don’t use them.

-It separates the digital world from the non-digital world.

-It is stuff between boys and girls.

-The divide between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.

-A divide that keeps the digital bugs away.

-The passover between the real and digital world.

-Dividing digitally.

-The newer generation’s preference for using the Internet over traditional ways.

-A security system.

Their answers reminded me that kids are intuitive and creative, two qualities that to me seem essential to effectively managing existence in the Information Age.

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