ABSTRACT
The primary focus of this chapter is a discussion of the term digital native. This term has often been used to describe millennial students; however, it encompasses the traditional college student demographic. More recently, scholars have problematized this term as it oversimplifies a complex skill set that is not universally developed among college students. In general, a digital native is someone, typically of the millennial generation or younger, who has technology deeply integrated into their everyday lives. Digital natives are thought to be both adept at using new technology and at multitasking. However, emerging research tends to demonstrate that the term is used in an overly simplistic fashion and does not represent the breadth of skill sets that students may, or may not, have. In addition, the term assumes equal access or that younger people are constantly using devices and that they have access to potentially expensive hardware. However, digital literacy is not a universal skill set that younger generations exhibit in equal fashion. Instead, just as in the general population, some individuals are more adept or knowledge with technology than others. This chapter suggests that the inclination to identifying today’s college students as so different from past students that instructors must radically transform their teaching practice as being an overdramatization. This chapter offers that technology be viewed as a tool that, when used carefully and appropriately, can be a powerful learning tool that enables students to learn.
