46 Things Every Student Should Know In A Digital World

The world does not stand still. It undergoes constant changes as well as people living in it. It would be incorrect to say that modern teenagers need to know the same things which Tom Sawyer knew.

Of course, some basics are always stable and do not disappear anywhere. At all times, young people have more chances to succeed in life if they are able to communicate efficiently, generate original ideas, bring all tasks to a conclusion, and solve problems under pressure. In addition, everyone has general human needs, such as water, food, housing, safety, and health – both physical and psychological.

But there are also features peculiar to different historical periods. We live in the informatization era and constant connectivity to the virtual space is extremely important for us. Only digital natives can become successful in the real world. Criteria determining whether a person may be happy, build a career and strong relationships change, just like drugs change the action of viruses, salt changes the retention period of meat, or electricity has changed the way how people work and sleep.

In this article, experts from Pro-Papers have outlined the fundamental things which young people should know in the digital world. Of course, this is just the beginning. In fact, this list is endless.

Information sources

1. Ways to find information of different types.
2. How to store data so that it can be quickly taken from an archive when necessary?
3. Criteria helping to check the credibility of facts, distinguish between objective and subjective information.
4. The ability to perceive arguments dispassionately and critically.

Learning pathways

5. How to compile individualized learning strategies?
6. How to make learning mobile?
7. How to find knowledge gaps and eliminate them?
8. How to create useful academic habits?

Human spaces

9. The interconnectedness between the real and virtual worlds.
10. Advantages and disadvantages of learning in the digital space.
11. What is necessary to implement mobile technology and what advantages students can get?
12. The difference between online communication (following in social networks, the rules of business correspondence) and face-to-face interaction (body language, eye contact).

Socializing ideas

13. What consequences idea sharing may entail: successful implementing, attracting new parties to a project, plagiarism, etc?
14. The best moment to share an idea when working on a task.
15. How to popularize ideas in the digital space?

Digital participation

16. Netiquette and the rules of digital citizenship.
17. How to use media materials created by other people without violating copyright?
18. The differences between private and social information and operations which may be done with each type.
19. What expertise a student can offer to the digital community?
20. How to take only needed data and not drown in the sea of information?

Publishing

21. The types of information which people strive to find on the Internet.
22. Which content may be shared with individual online users, groups, or the whole planet? The difference in scale and format between e-mails, posts in social media, forum chats, etc.
23. Advantages of the fact that digital texts may be updated and changed an infinite number of times.

Applying technology 

24. The differences between smartphones, laptops, desktops, tablets, the ways how they may be used individually and together, with a wire and wirelessly.
25. How to store and share information in a cloud?
26. Original ways to use gadgets going beyond their initial purpose. For example, a smartphone may be used for note-taking, improving literacy, time management, etc.

Audience

27. Peculiarities of content depending on readers’ demographic data, needs, lifestyle, and preferences.
28. The difference between those who care and do not care, are ready to respond or prefer to avoid the topic.
29. How to perceive other people’s messages with curiosity when there are many distractions?
30. The fact that popular things are not always high-quality. Students should learn to rely on their own mind rather than fashion.

Social rules

31. When it is appropriate to take a phone in hands? For example, it is not worth updating statuses, checking messages and likes in social networks while sitting in a classroom in front of a lecturer or at a dining table with relatives. Such behavior may be perceived as culture-free.
32. Time suitable for sending messages, depending on a communication platform. E-mail quite may be sent at night because most people check post at work and keep it closed at home. But it would be tactless to disturb a boss in instant messengers if a notification may wake up a recipient.
33. The importance of patience, for example, if a software fails or an interlocutor does not respond.

Diction

34. It is worth tracking the tone of communication and choosing each word carefully.
35. Jargon should be avoided when writing to professors, bosses, older relatives, and everyone else who may not like frivolous expressions. At the same time, there are situations when jargon helps to convey original ideas and find a common language with people.
36. Information may be presented in the form of an essay, a paragraph, a sentence, an article, an image, depending on content and a platform where a message is published.
37. The pros of knowing several languages. The Internet contributes to globalization, international communication, and multicultural exchange, so the informatization era provides boundless opportunities for polyglots.

Connecting with experts

38. How to find experts?
39. How to understand that a person is a professional in one’s field?
40. The difference between experienced, erudite, and adept people.
41. When a certain task may be solved with the help of friends, moderately-informed amateurs, or proficient specialists?

Software

42. Peculiarities of different operating systems: Windows, iOS, Android, etc.
43. Advantages and disadvantages of accessing social networks via mobile apps.
44. How to evaluate the privacy of an app?
45. Some apps may close and take all your files.
46. Nothing is free because software companies are businesses striving to earn money.