The Civic, Social and Multi Modal Lives of Digital Natives

Quotes

"During the last decade increasing attention in both the academic and policy spheres has been devoted to the possibilities offered by the Internet and digital communications technologies for involving young people in political deliberation and civic action."  --Digital Natives, Chapter 4

We've obviously seen a great deal of evidence in relation to this.  While reading this, I thought back to the 2008 election and how Barack Obama used the internet to raise money and support, and it was seen as such a revolutionary thing.  I remember everyone talking about how his use of the internet got the youth involved, and it did.  As the technology changes, it always comes into the political spectrum, from radio to television and now the Internet and social media.  The same can be said for civic action.  Information is spread so quickly through the Internet and social media.  The site Change.org has the sole purpose of developing petitions.  Now people can post and share links to petitions and have people all over the country support their cause.  Kickstarter is great for raising funds in support of projects and causes.  It would be irresponsible for policy makers and even academic institutions to not address the benefits that can be had through the use of current technology.

"Thus it was not only the actions of Kato but also those of witnesses that caused widespread shock and criticism both inside and outside of Japan."  --Digital Natives, Chapter 5

This happens a lot today.  No event can take place anywhere in the world without it being shared on the internet.  I can't help but think about all the events that have happened this year, and how social media sites blew up with information about these events.  During the events of the Boston bombing and Fergueson, I couldn't log onto Facebook or Tumblr without seeing something related to those events.  It's interesting to see that this sort of thing doesn't happen just in our country, but everywhere.  It's not just an occurrence here in the United States.

"Generally speaking, off-task work was not portrayed in a negative light on the basis that, it contributed to social cohesiveness... In fact, learner interaction with tasks can change the nature of the envisaged tasks, both in terms of outcome and process."  --Digital Natives, Chapter 6

I found it very interesting that conversations considered off-task were included in this study.  Many educators hate off-task conversations.  They often think that students should be completely focused on the assignment at hand.  While the majority of the focus should be on the task at hand, I have to agree that the conversations that happen otherwise are equally important.  I've also learned that just because two students might be having a conversation about something else doesn't mean they aren't working on the assignment they've been given.  I myself happen to be a major multi-tasker.  I can easily write out notes or answer questions while holding a completely different conversation.  I like that this particular study didn't portray off-task conversations negatively.

Meme

I loved this image when I found it.  In the image, the girl is eating breakfast, reading a book, and doing something on her phone.  She might even be doing more than one thing while on her phone.  The ability to multi-task and work with multiple mediums is a large part of being a digital native.  I included the part about 2011 because that was when this book was published.