Thanks to Mike Sharples, University of Nottingham who pointed me to this wonderful report, ‘Their Space’ by Hannah Green and Celia Hannon from DEMOS. It is a piece of research conducted over the last 9 months of 2006 in which children and parents of children were interviewed about their use of technology.
The research pointed to a number of different types of users:
- Digital pioneers were blogging before the phrase had been coined
- Creative producers are building websites, posting movies, photos and music to share with friends, family and beyond
- Everyday communicators are making their lives easier through texting and MSN
- Information gatherers are Google and Wikipedia addicts, ‘cutting and pasting’ as a way of life.
The report also talks about myths and misconceptions of the digital generation including
- Learning from pioneers
- Start with people and not PCs
- The world has changed, so why haven’t we?
Given that this report received the support of the National College for School Leadership in the UK, it is worth tkaing the time to read. I’d recommend every school leader and teacher should get a copy!!
One Comment
Yes, a great report. I also found it really interesting.
Another intriguing concept I came across recently (from web marketing research) is ‘digital travellers’ and ‘digital explorers’. A refinement of the ‘digital natives/immigrants’ concept. Travellers make their way through the landscape using typical established routes, while the explorers hack their way through the jungles of new technologies and innovative approaches online… they tolerate buggy betas just for the “fun” of it.
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