Digital natives in higher education: changes in students and challenges for others

Abstract

It has been argued that the hermeneutics of computer literacy have given way to the digital natives-immigrants analogy, but it is unclear whether the latter will last for long. The results of the research outlined in this paper show that the age of digital natives presents some major challenges to instructors and administrative bodies in higher education. We report on a case study conducted in the Department of Computer Science in the Faculty of Engineering at a university in Hong Kong, which has been running an information literacy course for undergraduates called the ‘Foundations to Information Technology’ since 1998. The findings demonstrate that not only have students’ ICT literacy levels and course work strategies changed but also, and perhaps more interesting, the instructors’ curriculum strategies have involved a series of adaptation measures, including: information management loaded with online materials; teaching and learning activities that are increasingly blended; assessment methods using ICT; and multiple communication channels.