Premium
Rethinking Common Assumptions About Adolescents' Motivation to Use Technology In and Out of School
Author(s) -
Jacobs Gloria E.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of adolescent and adult literacy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1936-2706
pISSN - 1081-3004
DOI - 10.1002/jaal.00139
Subject(s) - conceptualization , competence (human resources) , autonomy , psychology , pedagogy , technology integration , self determination theory , mathematics education , social psychology , teaching method , computer science , artificial intelligence , political science , law
Research on youth use of multiliteracies and multimodal texts often imply that youth are inherently motivated by digital technologies. In this column, I consider the nature of research into motivation and multiliteracies. I suggest that the concepts of competence, autonomy, and relatedness should be integrated with a multilayered contextual conceptualization of motivation when applied to multiliteracies. Furthermore, I argue that educators and researchers should avoid the assumptions that all youth are digitally savvy and motivated by technology. Instead, I suggest that attending to an individual's need for connection, choice, and competence can lead educators to rethink their approaches to technology integration.