Browsing by Subject "digital native"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Born into the Digital Age in the South of Africa: the reconfiguration of the “digital citizen
    (University of Lancaster, 2017-07-04) Czerniewicz, Laura; Brown, Cheryl
    This presentation discusses the nature of the term 'digital native' as it applies to the case of South African students.
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    Open Access
    Debunking the 'digital native': beyond digital apartheid, towards digital democracy
    (Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2010) Brown, Cheryl; Czerniewicz, Laura
    This paper interrogates the currently pervasive discourse of the 'net generation' finding the concept of the 'digital native' especially problematic, both empirically and conceptually. We draw on a research project of South African higher education students' access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to show that age is not a determining factor in students' digital lives; rather, their familiarity and experience using ICTs is more relevant. We also demonstrate that the notion of a generation of 'digital natives' is inaccurate: those with such attributes are effectively a digital elite. Instead of a new net generation growing up to replace an older analogue generation, there is a deepening digital divide in South Africa characterized not by age but by access and opportunity; indeed, digital apartheid is alive and well. We suggest that the possibility for digital democracy does exist in the form of a mobile society which is not age specific, and which is ubiquitous. Finally, we propose redefining the concepts 'digital', 'net', 'native', and 'generation' in favour of reclaiming the term 'digitizen'.
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    The digital native in a new era - apartheid or democracy?
    (2017-07-04) Czerniewicz, Laura
    This presentation discusses the concept of new students as 'digital natives' and critiques the one-sided conceptualisation of contemporary university students as inherently skilled in the use of digital and online learning tools and strategies.
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    Open Access
    The habitus of digital ""strangers"" in higher education
    (Wiley, 2013) Czerniewicz, Laura; Brown, Cheryl
    Research into South African students' digitally mediated learning and social practices revealed a subgroup termed ""digital strangers"", students lacking both experience and opportunities, who had barely used a computer and who did not have easy access to technology off campus. Using a Bourdieun framework, this group's technological habitus and access to capital were considered within the field of higher education. There was a focus on two forms of cultural capital: embodied cultural capital, specifically disposition and values; and objectified cultural capital especially computers and cell phones. Social capital—in terms of personal connections and the values of those close to the students—was also considered. The investigation showed a complex technological habitus, with a paucity of access and limited practices in relation to computers, while computers and their associated practices are highly valued within higher education Simultaneously, diverse practices and widespread indications of astute use of cell phones were described even though these remained under-acknowledged both by the students and the institutions in which they operated. Students recognised what the field of higher education valued, but they also used what they had available in order to best operate within the field. The findings point to a contradiction between students' practices and the field of higher education yet also show how student practices with an alternative form of objectified capital are pushing the boundaries of the field itself.