Students in a digital world: why traditional education for children needs new solutions

Ukrainian schools are increasingly faced with children for whom the digital space has become a familiar environment for communication, recreation, self-expression and receiving quick emotions. In such a situation, motivation to learn no longer depends only on the program, textbooks or teacher’s skills, because students’ behavior is influenced by online habits, virtual images, short attention span and the constant need for instant response. Therefore, the issue of digital identity goes beyond conversations about gadgets and becomes one of the key challenges for schools, parents, psychologists and educational policy.

What the EdEra survey showed

The results of the survey by the EdEra online education studio showed that more than 70% of students do not have sufficient motivation to study school subjects. This is an alarming signal for education, since the state expects prepared graduates who are able to learn, think critically, and adapt to future professions, while a significant part of schoolchildren already do not feel an intrinsic interest in studying.

Honored Teacher of Ukraine Vasyl Dyakiv draws attention to the fact that the problem of motivation is closely related to the digital environment in which children grow up. In his opinion, the school recognizes the change in reality, but the educational process still does not sufficiently take into account how the virtual space restructures the attention, memory, behavior and communication methods of students.

Digital identity refers to the set of online traces of a child: accounts, photos, search history, likes, comments, subscriptions, game profiles and other manifestations of presence in the virtual environment. For some children, this digital image gradually becomes so important that it begins to influence their self-perception, communication and attitude to real learning.

According to Vasyl Dyakiv, children with a predominance of digital identity may have reduced cognitive functions, weakened concentration, impaired long-term memory formation and difficulties with information processing. The virtual environment provides quick satisfaction, and the nervous system gets used to easy stimuli, after which a regular lesson may seem slow, overloaded and unattractive.

How the digital world affects children’s learning

A child who spends a lot of time in virtual space often gets used to the rapid change of images, short messages, instant reactions and easy access to entertainment. School learning works at a different pace: it requires attention, consistency, memory, effort and a willingness to complete tasks without immediate reward.

Because of this, tension arises between the student’s digital habits and the classroom system. The teenager may perceive learning as an environment where it is difficult for him to maintain interest, and the teacher sees fatigue, indifference, irritation or resistance. In such cases, the problem is not limited to discipline, because behind the behavior there is often a different way of interacting with the world.

Traditional school is built on live communication, explanation, written assignments, memorization, discussion and gradual assimilation of material. For a child who feels more comfortable in a virtual space, such a system can create strong internal tension, since a real class requires constant presence, reaction and completion of tasks at a given pace.

Vasyl Dyakiv points out that in some children this may manifest itself through apathy, aggression, crying, affective states, vandalism or dangerous behavior towards themselves or others. Such reactions should not be automatically explained by poor upbringing, since some students are actually protesting against an environment in which their nervous system cannot withstand the transition from fast digital stimuli to slower real interaction.

The role of parents, teachers and psychologists

Teachers, psychologists and social workers try to keep the educational process within the limits where the child can work without excessive emotional overload. However, for effective assistance, it is necessary to understand in which virtual world the student lives, what images are important to him, what plots he experiences in games, social networks or digital communities.

Parents often expect the school to find an approach to the child, although they themselves cannot always explain to specialists what is happening to him in the online environment. This creates a gap: the teacher sees behavior in the classroom, the family sees everyday reactions at home, and the psychologist lacks a complete picture of the child’s digital life.

According to Vasyl Dyakiv, the education system should think about different educational trajectories for students. A classroom-lesson system is suitable for some children if they can concentrate, withstand the learning load, work with text and feel comfortable in the school environment.

For children with a deeper immersion in the digital space, other learning formats may be needed that take into account the peculiarities of their attention, motivation, communication and psycho-emotional state. This approach requires the participation of psychologists, teachers, parents and the state, since the school alone cannot determine where the line is drawn between a feature of modern childhood and a problem that needs correction.

Some countries are already working on rules that limit children’s stay in the digital space to a certain age or regulate the use of artificial intelligence in education. Such steps show that states are looking for a balance between new technologies and the need to preserve children’s ability to learn in a real environment.

For Ukraine, this discussion is especially important, since the “New Ukrainian School” reform declares an individual educational trajectory, but the basic organization of learning still relies on the classroom-lesson model. If digital identity really affects motivation, behavior and educational results, educational policy will have to more precisely define how schools should work with different types of student experience.

Why the problem is not limited to gadgets

The digital identity of schoolchildren is not limited to the number of hours with a smartphone, because it concerns the way of thinking, reactions, values, communication and expectations from the world. A child who is accustomed to quick rewards may lose interest in tasks where the result appears after a long work, and the lesson does not always give an emotional response similar to the one he receives online.

The school cannot ignore this change, because without understanding the digital behavior of students, any appeals for motivation will remain weak. Education needs tools that will help to see the real state of the child, work with his attention, memory, emotions and learning needs, while maintaining the requirements for knowledge and development.