Digital Natives

Social virtual worlds (SVWs) have drawn substantial attention in business and academia. This research focuses on how trust affects customer loyalty in the SVW setting. Specifically, this study pinpoints how trust in SVW staff and other users influences the continuous use and purchase behaviour in SVWs. Additionally, we examine the influence of social presence on the two aspects trust and customer loyalty. The research model is tested with PLS using a sample of 2111 Finnish Habbo users. The two facets of trust are important antecedents on customer loyalty, yet differing in their effect. Social presence is a strong determinant of trust but also a direct antecedent of customer loyalty. Together, trust and social presence account for a considerable amount of variance in continuous use and purchase intention.

Since late 2000, some reviewers have criticized the proposal on a new generation of young learners that can interact with new technologies like they were their native language. It has been argued mainly that there is a lack of empirical research which takes into account different types of technology use and kinds of students, as well as qualitative studies that incorporate their perceptions and analysis of different learning contexts. This study seeks to contribute to this discussion by analyzing the technology use of Chilean secondary students and their perceptions on the contribution of technologies inside and outside their schools. It is concluded that among students in the sample there are scarce traits of the called new apprentices and appears a perceptual gap between different contexts, where learning is conceptualized from a schooling perspective.

En el marco de la sociedad del conocimiento caracterizada por dos hechos fundamentales: digitalización y convergencia mediática, la educación se enfrenta, sin duda, a un reto de profundos cambios y grandes reformas en su sistema educativo con un objetivo ineludible: educar a los nativos digitales. Después de décadas de literatura al respecto se hace necesario comenzar a tomar la iniciativa y proponer modelos de alfabetización digital factibles, pues aunque la comunidad internacional está de acuerdo en líneas generales, no parece que las políticas nacionales tomen una postura clara en cuanto a acciones educativas definitorias de la nueva era.
Así pues, además de una aproximación teórica a los principales conceptos: nativos digitales y alfabetización digital, este artículo presenta un proyecto piloto puesto en marcha en un aula de Segundo de Educación Primaria con alumnos de 7-8 años durante el 2013. Se trata de fomentar la alfabetización digital proponiendo un modelo específico y utilizando una herramienta concreta: el iPad. El objetivo fundamental será testar la efectividad y la idoneidad del proyecto en esta edad, pues la investigación llevada a cabo demostró que los niños de estas edades ya son usuarios de Internet.

Que el mundo está cada vez más interconectado es una afirmación casi irrefutable que modifica el modo en el que las personas se comunican globalmente. Este hecho propicia el desarrollo de nuevas maneras de pensar, nuevas maneras de crear y compartir el conocimiento. En este contexto de cambios y retos los profesores se encuentran con la gran responsabilidad de enseñar a sus alumnos no sólo nuevas herramientas, sino también nuevas destrezas para afrontar su futuro.
Tal vez sea necesario repensar la educación de un modo práctico, y no tanto teórico, desarrollando recursos para formar a nuestros niños desde pequeños. Para ello resulta determinante enfatizar que la búsqueda, selección y almacenamiento de información será una asignatura crucial para nuestros “nativos digitales”; esta comunicación trata de encontrar las claves necesarias para el desarrollo de la alfabetización digital como una asignatura porque no se trata sólo de una tendencia, sino de una necesidad.

Prensky (2001) argued that the transformations to education promised by the potential of information and communications technologies (ICT) have failed to materialise on a large scale, in part, because too many teachers are believed to be immigrants to the digital world. According to Prensky and others who subscribe to the digital natives argument, the familiarity that early career ‘digital native’ teachers have with ICT will flow through to effective use in their classrooms. However, assumptions around the digital native argument may be flawed and warrant more critical examination. Not all graduate teachers would necessarily see themselves as digital natives. Further, familiarity with ICT in the personal sphere may not automatically translate to effective use of ICT to enhance learning in the classroom (Russell, Bebell, O'Dwyer, & O'Connor, 2003). Growing up in an ICT-enriched world may not be sufficient to ensure effective integration of ICT that ‘transforms’ the learning experience in school classrooms. This paper reports on some of the findings of some small-scale research into the digital literacies of pre-service teacher education students conducted in one School of Education at an Australian university from 2008 - 2009. Pre-service teaching students were surveyed about their proficiency and frequency of use of a range of ‘out-of-school’ and ‘in-school’ ICT applications and devices as well as seeking information about their own experiences of using ICT during their formal education. The study also examined how pre-service teachers had observed the integration of ICT whilst on professional practice placements. The findings suggest that proficiency in using ‘out-of-school’ ICT may lead to greater confidence in applying ICT in the classroom, but that pre-service teachers’ own experiences of using and observing ICT in the classroom are also important factors in developing a new generation of teachers who can use ICT in a more transformative mode. Key Phrase: Teacher Education and ICT

The aim of this working paper is to examine the travel behaviour of Generation Y parents. Generation Y is defined as the children of Baby Boomers. Broadly speaking this includes individuals born anytime in the region of 1977 to 2001. This generation has been described as the most educated, affluent, assertive and IT-literate generation in history, their development shaped by the key economic, social and cultural forces evident during their formative years. Whilst extensively researched, existing literatures detailing Generation Y tend to focus primarily upon individual behaviour. There is little recognition that this generation might themselves be parents too. Equally, literatures documenting the relationship between parenthood and holiday-taking tend to focus upon family decision-making and tourism experiences more generally. The travel behaviour of Generation Y as parents and holiday-takers is less understood. Semi-structured interviews are ongoing to explore this relationship. To date, twenty-four interviews have been completed, with a further six planned for the coming months. Initial observations on the data will be presented during the conference paper delivery. The data will be analysed through template analysis using a Service-Dominant (S-D) Logic framework to enhance understanding.

In our increasingly digital economy the ability to securely perform online financial transactions is becomingly a vital life-skill. As a vital life skill it should be learned and incorporated into individual’s lives as early as possible. This paper proposes the concept of digital pocket money, which could aid in teaching children the knowledge and skills required to be able manage their finances online, and perform online financial transactions as needed. Traditionally similar financial skills for the offline world have been taught to children using physical pocket money. This paper proposes the creation of a digital equivalent of physical pocket money.