Digital natives and immigrants. Finding the gap

Abstract

The presented paper investigates the needs of digital immigrants (generally those born before the year 1985 (those before the Millennial generation are considered to be digital immigrants and those born after 1985 are digital natives, having grown up only in a world defined by the internet and smart devices, Prensky, 2001). Digital immigrants should integrate and use the ICT argued for the introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (hereinafter ICT) in public policies in education. However, there is consensus on four basic arguments (OECD, 2001): are a basic skill, such as reading, writing, and math, they represent an opportunity for economic development and a requirement for employment, they are a tool for school management, they are a tool that improves the teaching and learning process. The first two arguments are linked to the potential socioeconomic benefits attributed to the use and appropriation of ICTs. These have an impact on human development, both that one of the development goals for the millennium postulates that it is necessary to “ensure that can take advantage of the benefits of new technologies, in particular those of information and communications” (ONU, 2013). In relation to the potential economic benefits, it is reasonable to assume that, with the use of ICT, the inhabitants of developed countries acquire skills and competencies that complement their possibilities to function successfully in society. However, these arguments should be considered with more caution in developing countries, since in these people do not necessarily have the basic skills necessary to effectively take advantage of the potential of ICT.