Digital kids The disconnect Digital tools for digital kids
Students walking in a hallway [photo]
Digital kids: Who they are and how they learn
Today’s kids are different than kids were 15 years ago. They learn differently and as a result feel disconnected from schools that were designed for another time.

These digital kids take in and respond to rapidly transmitted sights and sounds whether on television, computers, or video games.

Digital kids are hypercommunicators.
They use many means to stay in constant touch with their peers and to access information about their world. They commonly use land phones, cell phones, beepers, handheld devices (PDAs), email, the Internet, instant messaging, and fax machines.

Digital kids are multitaskers.
They see no problem watching TV, browsing the Internet, listening to music, and communicating with their friends at the same time.

Digital kids are goal oriented.
When multitasking, they may pursue multiple goals at the same time. Digital kids are ambitious and success oriented.

The disconnect


Carl Owens
Professor and Director of Technology, College of Education, Tennessee Technological University



Edgar, Student

“Digital kids need learning to be relevant, meaningful, and applicable now. That’s very different from students, even myself, who went to school 12 years ago.” Marco Antonio Torres Teacher and Media Coach San Fernando High School, CA