Dealing with non-Digital members of the "Digital Native" Generation

I was watching my students using clickers during class and it occurred me...how many of our students really aren't members of today's digital native generation. So many of our students have their own phones, gaming systems or computers with Internet access we assume they all do. Looking around the room today, it struck me that students in rural corporations probably don't have the cell coverage their suburban & urban counterparts do. Also, many aren't away from home as often, so they don't have as frequent a need for communication to home. In addition, students in high poverty homes, while often having the multimedia entertainment more affluent students do, probably do not have the Internet or cell phones due to the cost of a monthly plan.

Is it wrong of us to assume they all know how to pick up a keypad & enter answers via texting flawlessly? After watching many of my students, I feel the answer to that is "MOST DEFINITELY." I watched as some of the brightest students struggle to grasp what seems to most of us to be a basic concept...texting in numerical answers. Kids are very adaptive and learn quickly, especially when it's something related to technology. Many, though, don't have the background knowledge to instantly be successful with items such as clickers and iPods. Teachers, who many times are not as tech-savy as their students, need to learn technology patience, similar to the pause after posing a question to a student. This gives all students the time to arrive at the answer and to comfortably key in their answers.

Eventually all student will be using digital books, with assignments, feedback and updates coming automatically from the wi-fi network at school. This advance in technology will more than likely level the tech-use playing field among all socio-economic groups. Until that day, however, we need to be sensitive to the needs of all students, especially those who do not have the access to technology outside the school,. These students are no less capable, but may lack the background experience to proficiently use the technology.