Moving Teaching and Learning into the Digital Era

• Main Authors: Ramlee Mustapha, Sara Kashefian-Naeeini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lasting Impressions Press 2017-08-01
• Series: International Journal of English Language and Translation Studies
• Subjects: Learning Technology; Digital Age; Teaching and Learning; Gen-Z Learners
• Online Access: http://www.eltsjournal.org/archive/value5%20issue3/5-5-3-17.pdf

Digital learners, who are now entering schools and universities, have learning expectations, styles, and needs different from past students. Today’s Gen-Z communicates in a language that older generation may not fully understand; the aforementioned learners have a vernacular of their own. It’s an ever-evolving language of interpretation and expression, an interactive approach to learning, creating and responding to information through a complex montage of images, sound, and communication. Students are pushing learning into a new dimension. It’s a mistake to continue to try to teach these learners in time-worn ways. Their choices of communication need to be diversified to encompass visual interpretations of texts and historical figures. Vast challenges have arisen and the impact of technology on the socio-economic landscape is becoming more significant. Gen-Z takes advantage of the enormous resources of the Web, transforming what they find there by using digital technologies to create something new and expressive. More advanced and specialized courses could also be converted, although some level of face-to-face contact is necessary to master such material. Unless teachers are trained to expect and accept content gathered through social networks with emphasis on teaching students how to check validity and reliability of the web, the full power of the digital natives cannot be released or expanded. Educators have to adjust their teaching styles to accommodate a new generation of Gen-Z. This paper, which is a predominantly theoretical one, maintains that creative thinking and a firm commitment are needed to move teaching and learning into the digital age.