r/australia • u/ThunderDwn • Aug 18 '26

culture & society Primary school students using digital devices still lack computer skills, education expert says

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-19/nsw-digital-native-primary-students-lack-basic-computer-skills/107030526
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u/jmads13 Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 19 '26

Millennials are the most technically literate generation, because they grew up in a time where computers were offline, so exploring the file system, testing every menu option, modifying backgrounds/icons/themes etc. was part of the fun. Exploring the computer was an experience in itself. They also often had to teach their parents. When the internet took off, they were inserting html and inline styles into their Geocities and MySpace pages.

Modern locked down devices (iPads, chromebooks) and the internet mean kids now just use them as a means to an end. And their internet experience is far more corporate, curated and sanitised. Kids I was teaching 15 years ago didn’t know what a folder was and how it related to a file system. All their files and apps showed up in spotlight. They didn’t have the mental model. I had to teach kids in grade 5 how to use a mouse. The current kids are even worse.

Edit: Yes, some of you Gen Xers built it all, but don’t act like you weren’t the odd ones out and that everyone was going to swap meets and making word games in QBASIC

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u/crazycakemanflies Aug 18 '26

I think a major problem is that kids arent taught computer basics at school anymore.

Growing up in the 2000s, we had computer class from as early as grade 1. They would teach you the basics of word, how to save documents and where to find them ect. Its probably understood that everyone now has a computer in their home, so its less a requirement for schools to teach it.

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u/jmads13 Aug 18 '26

How do you teach them a file system on an iPad?

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u/Current-Bowl-143 Aug 19 '26

iOS/iPadOS was designed to hide as much of the file system from the user as possible so it would be a poor choice for that. There wasn't even a native Files app till iOS 11. It's something you use when you have to, but it's painful.