Digital Natives

Technology is such a dynamic concept, which is constantly evolving and growing. Inventors and entrepreneurs are inspired to create and develop the next piece of technology to grow both our society and economy. As our society continues to be impacted by technological advances, society’s cultures, values systems and norms are evolving too.

The youth of our society have developed in an era of technology and are truly “digital natives.” The youth of today are all "native speakers" of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet. “Digital natives” truly think differently. They are consistently exposed to stimuli, allowing them to multitask. They communicate through text messages, internet messaging, social networking, email and skype.

These new concepts have truly connected the globe and I believe have made our society smarter. I am able to still communicate with friends from Serbia, Switzerland and China, who I befriended while they were foreign exchange students in high school and college. While I took a history course in college, I frequently asked my friend questions about his culture and felt better prepared for class participation and tests.

Youth are no longer excited by school and it is truly a matter of how to engage youth and allow them to use their creative ability. As educators, we must evolve with the students and stay connected with changes. Students today are bored by old teaching methods. Students learn in drastically different ways now and it is truly a result of them developing differently. We must incorporate technology into the classroom, because that is exactly what they are accustomed to and will allow the students to be engaged in their course work. The idea of adding technology is not radical, but rather necessary, as we are continually losing bright students. We lose bright students because they are no longer engaged and believe that can find all the answers they need through their own intuition because they are quicker and more efficient then their own teachers.