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Educators must relinquish the idea of being all-knowing and replace that concept with an attitude of being a facilitator, knowing that the world of information is just a “click” away.

Traditional schools, generally staffed primarily with Digital Immigrants, often provide very little technology interaction compared to the digital world in which students are actually living.  Digital Natives can pay attention in class, but they choose not to pay attention, because in reality, they are bored with instructional methods that Digital Immigrants use.

Today’s Digital Native students have developed new attitudes and aptitudes as a result of their technology environment.  Although these characteristics provide great advantages in areas such as the students’ abilities to use information technology and to work collaboratively, they have created an imbalance between students’ learning environment expectations and Digital Immigrants’ teaching strategies and policies, which students find in schools today.

Teacher training programs in the area of technology will be paramount in the success of the Digital Native.

Twenty-first century educators must begin to answer these questions: Do the educational resources provided fit the needs and preferences of today’s learners?  Will linear content give way to simulations, games, and collaboration?  Do students’ desires for group learning and activities imply rethinking the configuration and use of space in classrooms and libraries?  What is the material basis of digital literacy? What is different in a digital age?  What are kids doing already and what could they be doing better, and more responsibly, if we learned how to teach them differently? Addressing these questions will contribute toward bridging the gap of the technology cultural divide and result in schools where all students have greater potential to achieve academically.

writing practice and communication were conducted mainly through the computer not the mobile devices

students were in agreement that the blend of in-class, online and mobile delivery was an optimal solution for internationally trained immigrants learning English in a post-secondary context. They found the combination of 1) speaking taught primarily face-to-face, 2) listening taught on the mobile devices and 3) writing taught mainly online to be an effective approach.

the in-class component seemed to maintain the integrity of the hybrid course overall as it fostered a sense of community amongst the learners. As noted by participants, it was the design of the materials and the way in which they were presented, not the technology used, that impacted the effectiveness of the course the most.

The traditional classroom meetings though, were found most beneficial in promoting face-to-face interaction, ad-hoc speaking, pronunciation practice and the development of other communication competencies supported by visual cues.

the findings indicate that students’ progress was enabled by effective instructional design integrating goals and content relevant to the specific group of learners, together with the appropriate methods and media which enabled and enhanced interaction within the content.