Saturday 29 December 2012

2012 New Words

image credits: Keep Calm O'Matic App
Every year, Oxford Dictionaries are updated with some of the following: new words and senses, special features on language change, revised encyclopedic entries and improved functionality. Here are the main additions in 2012 and the corresponding month!

November
November’s update sees words from the worlds of technology, social culture, and finance debuting on Oxford Dictionaries Online.
Social terms recognized include bezzieboyfdeetsFirst World problem, and stressy whilst technology brings us chatbotforumiteGodwin’s law, and the recently launched LTE and 4G mobile networks. The continuing impact of the financial world can be seen in the addition of debt trappayday loan, and payday lender.

August
The August quarterly update includes the addition of a number of terms inspired by contemporary culture, including ridicgroup hugvote (someone or something) off the island, and date night.
The world of technology also remains a major influence on the English language, with innovative advances reflected in new entries including ethical hacker3D printing, and e-learning. Social media also continues to shape language evolution: tweepsvideo chat,lifecasting, and hat tip are among the latest words to make their Oxford Dictionaries debut, while acronyms regularly used online (from lulz to DW and UX) have also been recognized.
Superfly (stylish), boo (boyfriend), and skookum house (prison) are just some of the 1,000 new synonyms added to Oxford Dictionaries Pro in the August 2012 update, with the addition of the third edition of the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus
Here, you can read David Foster Wallace's reflection on the term 'all of' in the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus.

July
French, German, Italian, and Spanish vocabulary was added – from the everyday to the language of computing and technology, health and lifestyle. Look up access and digital in English, mieux and bibliothèque in French, die Servolenkung and der Doppelklick in German, bisettimanale and ambiente in Italian, or caminar and reciclado in Spanish.

May

A wide variety of words has been added, from aptonym to whatevs. Whether you are a sports fan who hopes to one day win the scudetto, or a fashionista debating whether to buy a onesie or a bandage dress,  you'll find something to interest you.
Words from the world of finance and banking (Robin Hood taxdebt ceilingsovereign debt), computing (ransomwaregeodata), and the environment (green technologyeco-drivingwater footprint) have been added, too.

February

Calling all fashionistas – new words added to Oxford Dictionaries Online include boy shortsshootie, and hobo bag. Gaming also plays a big role in the latest update, with gamificationludology, and social gaming all featuring. Or perhaps you prefer to step away from the computer screen and indulge in some LARPing?
Learn more about the new words, from cyberchondriac to scratchiti, on the OxfordWords blog.

In Oxford Dictionaries (slightly abridged)

Saturday 22 December 2012

Christmas wishes

To all our Readers, Friends and Visitors, our sincere and warm wishes of a very Merry Christmas!


We are shutting down for some days, to take a break and enjoy some quality family time over Christmas. Meanwhile, we do hope your holiday season is full of light, happiness and love! See you in some days!

Friday 21 December 2012

Winter has arrived!

photo credits: Brisbane Times

Some facts on Doomsday 2012

image credits: Red Thread Magazine
There is a widespread and unnecessary fear of doomsday on December 21st, 2012. Some people worry about a Maya prophecy of the end of the world, others fear a variety of astronomical threats such as collision with a rogue planet. Polls suggest that one in ten people worry about whether they will survive past Dec 21st of this year. Following are brief facts that address these doomsday fears.
Mayan Calendar: The Maya calendar, which is made up different cycles of day counts, does not end this year. Rather, one cycle of 144,000 days (394 years) ends and the next cycle begins.
Mayan Prophecy: The ancient Maya did not predict the end of the world or any disaster in December 2012. Such doomsday predictions are a modern hoax.
Planet Nibiru: Nibiru is probably the minor name of a god found in ancient Mesopotamian writing. There is no planet named Nibiru, and the fictional books by economist Zecharia Sitchin about a civilization on this planet are a hoax.
Rogue Planet Headed for Earth. For the past decade there have been reports of a rogue object (Planet X, or Nibiru, or Hercubolus, or even Comet Elenin) that will collide with Earth in December 2012. These claims are not true. If such a threatening world existed, it would be one of the brightest objects in the sky, and astronomers would have been tracking it for years. If it existed, its gravity would be distorting the orbits of planets, especially Mars and Earth. Astronomers know that it does not exist.
Planet Alignments: There is no alignment of planets in Dec 2012. There is an approximate lining up of the Earth and Sun and the center of our Galaxy in late December, but this happens every year. In any case, planet alignments have no effect on the Earth.
Pole Shift: There is nothing strange this year about either the magnetic poles or the rotational poles of the Earth. The magnetic polarity changes every million years or so, but that is not happening now, and it probably takes thousands of years when it does happen. A sudden change in the rotational axis has never happened and is not possible. If there were any change in the Earth’s rotation, it would be instantly apparent by failure of our GPS systems.
Increasing Disasters. Our planet is behaving normally in 2012, although we see more and more news stories about natural disasters. There has been no increase in earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. There has been an increase in extreme weather, including both droughts and floods, which are partly attributable to global warming, but this has nothing to do with a 2012 doomsday.
Solar Outbursts: The Sun’s ongoing 11-year activity cycle is expected to peak in 2013, not 2012. Solar outbursts can damage orbiting satellites but will not hurt us on the surface. The strength of the 2013 solar maximum is predicted to be lower than average, not higher.
Bunker Conspiracy: Accusations of a massive government cover-up are nonsense. No government could hide an incoming planet or silence hundreds of thousands of scientists. Rumors that huge bunkers have been built in the USA or elsewhere to shelter the elite are lies. Apparently a few people are building private shelters, but their fear of 2012 is misplaced and they are wasting their money.
Scaring Children: The group most vulnerable to doomsday claims is children. Teachers report that many of their students are frightened and some are even considering suicide. This is the most tragic consequence of the 2012 hoax.
The End of the World: The idea of the sudden end of the world by any cause is absurd. The Earth has been here for more than 4 billion years, and it will be several more billion years before the gradual brightening of the Sun makes our planet unlivable. Meanwhile there is no known astronomical or geological threat that could destroy the Earth.

By David Morrison (Director of the Carl Sagan Center), in Doomsday 2012 Fact Sheet (slightly abridged)

Thursday 20 December 2012

Oh Christmas lights keep shining on!...

"Those Christmas lights
Light up the street
Down where the sea and the city meet
May all your troubles soon be gone
Oh Christmas lights keep shining on"

Tuesday 18 December 2012

Christmas shopping

No better place to be during our scarce, but happy, Christmas shopping... The lights, the colours, the caroling, the warm spirit... Harrods is not only one of the most important department stores in the UK, but also an irreplaceable part of its identity. Wish I could be there!

photo credits: Harrods on Instagram

Friday 14 December 2012

Google Maps @ Night

Earth at Night 2012 is a neat use of Google Maps to display what the world looks like after the sun goes down. The Earth at Night map allows you to specify a location and see how much artificial light is emitted from it at night. You can't zoom-in as far as you would in normal Google Map, but you still can center a location on the map.   
Image from Earth At Night 2012

This isn't an official new aspect of Google Maps. It was developed through a collaboration of Google, NOAA, and NASA.
Applied to ELT it could be interesting to have students to identify places without the benefit of the usual features of a map, as they generally find it so tough to locate different parts of the UK and the USA. Just don't let them use the search box until they're ready to check their answers!

Source: Free Technology For Teachers (adapted)

Thursday 13 December 2012

American English Website

American English is a resource center for teaching and learning about American English language and culture. The website provides a variety of engaging materials and resources for teachers' professional development and for students in the classroom. Both teachers and students will find new ways to practice English and learn more about the United States.
The Office of English Language Programs in Washington, D.C. provides academic expertise, advisory and consultative assistance, as well as materials and resources worldwide. All programs are implemented by Regional English Language Officers at American Embassies or Consulates. Programs and resources administered through their office include English materials, distance education programs, and teacher training workshops. Check back the website regularly for updates and new resources. Besides, you can create your own 'resource list', for example with your favourite articles from the English Teaching Forum.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

December Lesson Ideas


found pic @ Jcesc Gifted Gab
Winter break is just around the corner! Do your students celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Three Kings Day? Maybe they celebrate St. Lucia Day or Ramadan. December offers great opportunities for teaching about our multicultural world.  Here are some fun suggestions that will keep your students engaged until winter break, suggested by Eye on Education and by Education World.

1. Holiday Projects: Classroom Decorating and Gift-Making Ideas
Are you tired of doing the same holiday art project year after year? Here you can get handprint wreathes, tissue paper bows, dozens of more ideas.


2. Emphasize the Giving -- Not the Getting -- This Holiday Season
Are your students too focused on the gimme elements of the holiday season? Teach them about the true meaning of the season by emphasizing the giving over the getting.

3. Brighten Up the Holidays with Cross-Curriculum Activities
Across-the-curriculum activities that teach skills while celebrating the season.

4. Give Your Students the Dickens
Explore some of the student-friendly Dickens Web sites we found and hear from some of the teachers and Dickens fans who created them. Included: Teacher-created ideas for extending the works of Dickens.

5. December Days: Ten Activities to Celebrate a Month of Special Days
Activities for ten special dates in December, a geography teaching master, and more.

6. Sites to See: December Holidays
Don't let the December holidays disrupt the learning in your classroom. These online resources help incorporate the holidays into real learning activities -- and provide a little fun as well. Included: A dozen Web sites for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas.

Students create a timeline to illustrate when popular toys were introduced.

This simple craft will keep students focused and having fun.

Students will develop a plan for decorating a tree in a theme related to a book they have read.

Students apply to become Santa's little helper by writing a letter to him explaining how he/she is qualified to help.

Teach your students about alliteration by having them create festive tongue twisters!

Students will demonstrate an understanding of how different cultures celebrate the winter holidays.

Cut out christmas trees from green paper and glue numbered stars on top of them. Students can use pom pom ornaments to decorate the trees (but only the amount the star said on each tree).

Students will learn the different customs of celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.

Students wrap a box (in class or at home) and write a compliment for each other student in the classroom. They then exchange compliments. Each student will have a box full of compliments to take home as a present.

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Where are the Wise Men?

A cartoon by Schrank @ The Independent
This cartoon by Schrank from The Independent relates to the Doha Climate Change Conference, which finally produced an agreement that would see the Kyoto Protocol continuing for a further seven years. However, the deal was denounced by climate activists as inadequate to contain global warming at 2 degrees Celsius, given that greenhouse gas emissions are likely to hit another record level this year. A polar bear is sweltering in the desert heat on the road to Doha, which is in Qatar. He asks a group of three camels, "Where are the wise men?" Meanwhile, planes crisscross the sky, emitting tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
The cartoonist plays on the word 'wise'. According to Christian tradition, the Three Wise Men were a group of distinguished foreigners who visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They are usually shown riding camels. More generally, awise person is able to use their experience and knowledge to make sensible decisions and judgements, something noticeably lacking at the Doha conference.

Monday 10 December 2012

Some key concepts in Assessment

image credits: Muskegon Community College
For teachers and curriculum designers carefully constructed learner assessment techniques can help determining whether or not the stated goals are being achieved. Classroom assessment can help teachers answer the following specific questions:
To what extent are my students achieving the stated goals?
How should I allocate class time for the current topic?
Can I teach this topic in a more efficient or effective way?
What parts of this unit are my students finding most valuable?
How will I change this unit the next time I teach it?
Which grades do I assign my students?
Meanwhile, for students, learner assessment answers a different set of questions:
Do I know what my teacher thinks is most important?
Am I mastering the unit content?
How can I improve the way I study English?
What grade am I earning in this subject?

Explaining the importance of assessment, Brissenden and Slater state that assessment is important because it drives students learning. Whether we like it or not, most students tend to focus their energies on the best or most expeditious way to pass their ‘tests.’ Based on this knowledge, we can use our assessment strategies to manipulate the kinds of learning that takes place. For example, assessment strategies that focus predominantly on recall of knowledge will likely promote superficial learning. On the other hand, if we choose assessment strategies that demand critical thinking or creative problem-solving, we are likely to realize a higher level of student performance or achievement. In addition, good assessment can help students become more effective self-directed learners.
As indicated above, motivating and directing learning is only one purpose of assessment. Well-designed assessment strategies also play a critical role in educational decision-making and are a vital component of ongoing quality improvement processes at the lesson, course and/or curriculum level.

To ensure our comprehension on assessment, here are some important concepts in assessment:

1. Formative and Summative Assessment
Formative assessment aims to inform ongoing teaching and learning by providing immediate feedback. A teacher who assesses pupils’ understanding of a listening text and uses the outcomes to change her plan and give more practice before moving on to a speaking activity, is carrying out formative assessment. Ideally, formative assessment should influence both teaching and learning by giving feedback to both teacher and learner. Summative assessment, on the other hand, aims to asses learning at the end of a unit, term, year, or course, and does not feed back into the next round of teaching.

2. Diagnostic and Achievement Assessment
Many assessment activities provide both formative and summative information, but it is helpful to be clear as to the primary purpose and one of an assessment because this can affect what kind of information the activity needs to produce. It is fundamental to highlight the distinction between assessing achievement, i.e. what a learner can do, and diagnostic assessment that aims to establish what a child can and can not yet do, so that further learning opportunities can be provided.

3. Criterion-referenced and Norm-referenced Assessment
If we assess learner’s achievement, we can produce a ranking of learners which says that child X has learnt more than child Y and less that child Z; this would be norm-referenced. Alternatively, we can compare a learner’s performance, not to other learners, but to a set of criteria of expected performance or learning targets. Criterion-referenced assesment can match the child’s performance against an expected response on an item, or it may make use of a set of descriptors along a scale, on which a learner is placed.

4. Validity
The concepts of validity and reliability are used to describe the technical quality of assessment practices. They are more often applied to testing, although are also important in alternative assessment. Validity is more important, particularly in alternative assessment, and concerns how far an assesment assesses what it claims to. If a test does not measure what it claims to, then there are clearly dangers in using it.

5. Reliability
Reliability measures how well a test or assessment assesses what it claims to: would the assessment produce the same results if it were taken by the same pupils on different occasions, or if the same test or assesment was scored by different people? (Gipps and Stobart, 1993).
Validity and reliability can be conflicting needs for assessment techniques and procedures. The most reliable assessments will be pencil and paper tests in which each item measures only a single aspect of a skill and which give each testee a numerical mark. But the most valid assessments will be on those that collect a lot of information about performance on several aspects of a skill. When validity increased, reliability decreased.


Types and Approaches to Assessment

Numerous terms are used to describe different types and approaches to learner assessment. Although somewhat arbitrary, it is useful to these various terms as representing dichotomous poles:
Formative <---------------------------------> Summative
Informal <---------------------------------> Formal
Continuous <----------------------------------> Final
Process <---------------------------------> Product
Divergent <---------------------------------> Convergent

1. Formative vs. Summative Assessment
Formative assessment is designed to assist the learning process by providing feedback to the learner, which can be used to identify strengths and weakness and hence improve future performance. Formative assessment is most appropriate where the results are to be used internally by those involved in the learning process.
Summative assessment is used primarily to make decisions for grading or determine readiness for progression. Typically summative assessment occurs at the end of an educational activity and is designed to judge the learner’s overall performance.

2. Informal vs. Formal Assessment
With informal assessment, the judgments are integrated with other tasks, e.g., lecturer feedback on the answer to a question. Informal assessment is most often used to provide formative feedback. As such, it tends to be less threatening and thus less stressful to the student. However, informal feedback is prone to high subjectivity or bias.
Formal assessment occurs when students are aware that the task that they are doing is for assessment purposes, e.g., a written examination. Most formal assessments also are summative in nature and thus tend to have greater motivation impact and are associated with increased stress. Given their role in decision-making, formal assessments should be held to higher standards of reliability and validity than informal assessments.

3. Continuous vs. Final Assessment
Continuous assessment occurs throughout a learning experience (intermittent is probably a more realistic term). Continuous assessment is most appropriate when student and/or instructor knowledge of progress or achievement is needed to determine the subsequent progression or sequence of activities. Continuous assessment provides both students and teachers with the information needed to improve teaching and learning in process. Obviously, continuous assessment involves increased effort for both teacher and student. Final (or terminal) assessment is that which takes place only at the end of a learning activity. It is most appropriate when learning can only be assessed as a complete whole rather than as constituent parts. Typically, final assessment is used for summative decision-making.

4. Process vs. Product Assessment
Process assessment focuses on the steps or procedures underlying a particular ability or task, i.e., the cognitive steps in performing a mathematical operation. Because it provides more detailed information, process assessment is most useful when a student is learning a new skill and for providing formative feedback to assist in improving performance.
Product assessment focuses on evaluating the result or outcome of a process. Using the above example, we would focus on the answer to the math computation. Product assessment is most appropriate for documenting proficiency or competency in a given skill, i.e., for summative purposes.

5. Divergent vs. Convergent Assessment
Divergent assessments are those for which a range of answers or solutions might be considered correct. Divergent assessments tend to be more authentic and most appropriate in evaluating higher cognitive skills. However, these types of assessment are often time consuming to evaluate and the resulting judgments often exhibit poor reliability. A convergent assessment has only one correct response (per item). Objective test items are the best example and demonstrate the value of this approach in assessing knowledge. Obviously, convergent assessments are easier to evaluate or score than divergent assessments. Unfortunately, this “ease of use” often leads to their widespread application of this approach even when contrary to good assessment practices.

Assessment Principles
What principles will provide the most essential, fundamental "structure" of assessment knowledge and skills that result in effective educational practices and improved student learning? McMillan (2000) tries to elaborate the principles as follows:

1. Assessment is inherently a process of professional judgment.
2. Assessment is based on separate but related principles of measurement evidence and evaluation.
3. Assessment decision-making is influenced by a series of tensions.
4. Assessment influences student motivation and learning.
5. Assessment contains error.
6. Good assessment enhances instruction.
7. Good assessment is valid.
8. Good assessment is fair and ethical.
9. Good assessments use multiple methods.
10. Good assessment is efficient and feasible.
11. Good assessment appropriately incorporates technology.

Testing: Why and How

Testing is certainly not the only way to assess students, but there are many good reasons for including a test in our language course:
1. A test can give the teacher valuable information about where the students are in their learning and can affect what the teacher will cover next. They will help a teacher to decide if her teaching has been effective and help to highlight what needs to be reviewed. Testing can be as much an assessment of the teaching as the learning
2. Tests can give students a sense of accomplishment as well as information about what they know and what they need to review.
3. Tests can also have a positive effect in that they encourage students to review material covered on the course.

However, sometimes testing doesn't work and we could find many arguments against using tests as a form of assessment:
1. Some students become so nervous that they can't perform and don't give a true account of their knowledge or ability
2. Other students can do well with last-minute cramming despite not having worked throughout the course
3. Once the test has finished, students can just forget all that they had learned
4. Students become focused on passing tests rather than learning to improve their language skills.

Frost (2004) admits that using only tests as a basis for assessment has obvious drawbacks. They are 'one-off' events that do not necessarily give an entirely fair account of a student's proficiency. As we have already mentioned, some people are more suited to them than others. There are other alternatives that can be used instead of or alongside tests.
1. Continuous assessment
Teachers give grades for a number of assignments over a period of time. A final grade is decided on a combination of assignments.
2. Portfolio
A student collects a number of assignments and projects and presents them in a file. The file is then used as a basis for evaluation.
3. Self-assessment
The students evaluate themselves. The criteria must be carefully decided upon beforehand.
4. Teacher's assessment
The teacher gives an assessment of the learner for work done throughout the course including classroom contributions.

To summarize, what is most essential about assessment is understanding how general, fundamental assessment principles and ideas can be used to enhance student learning and teacher effectiveness. This will be achieved as teachers and administrators learn about conceptual and technical assessment concepts, methods, and procedures, for both large-scale and classroom assessments, and apply these fundamentals to instruction. Finally, the comprehension on the assessment principles will guide the assessment training and professional development of teachers and administrators to run more productive assessment. 

By Agustina Djihadi, found @ A Journey Called Life Blog

Saturday 8 December 2012

Hanukkah


found pic @ Google Images
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BC. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. This year, it starts today, December 8th by sunset.
The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical Menorah consists of eight branches with an additional raised branch. The extra light is called a shamash and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. The purpose of the shamash is to have a light available for use, as using the Hanukkah lights themselves is forbidden.

Background
The name "Hanukkah" derives from the Hebrew verb "חנך", meaning to dedicate. On Hanukkah, the Jews regained control of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple.
When the Second Temple in Jerusalem was looted and services stopped, Judaism was outlawed. In 167 BC, Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. He banned circumcision and ordered pigs to be sacrificed at the altar of the temple. Antiochus's actions provoked a large-scale revolt.
Mattityahu, a Jewish priest, and his five sons (Jochanan, Simeon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah) led a rebellion against Antiochus. By 166 BC Mattityahu had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BC the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful.
The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of Hanukkah was instituted to celebrate this event. Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. The story goes that there was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight-day festival was declared by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

Rituals
Sufganiyot (kind of fried jelly doughnuts)photo credits: Inhabitots
Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday, some are family-based and others communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath.
Adherents go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close from the second day for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange small gifts each night, such as books or games. Fried foods are eaten to commemorate the importance of oil during the celebration of Hanukkah.

image credits: lovefromtheoven
Source:  Johnston, S. (2004). Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide. Harvard University Press & Greenberg, I. (1993). The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays. Simon & Schuster (slightly abridged and adapted)

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Beware the 'digital native' stereotype


found image @ Academia Marketing Digital
Technology teacher Mary Beth Hertz writes on Edutopia that teachers need to beware of the "dangerous" stereotype that all students these days are ‘digital natives’.  There are a lot of dangerous stereotypes out there. "Asian students are always better at math." "Boys are always better at sports." And perhaps the most dangerous of all: "The current generation are all digital natives." Hertz says that just because students know how to use technology doesn't mean they understand how to "create, read critically, use online content responsibly," and be respectful of others in the digital world. And those skills are necessary to be truly digitally savvy, she contends.
Mary Hertz cites a study in which the nonprofit organization One Laptop Per Child left pre-loaded tablets with illiterate children in remote Ethiopian villages. The children quickly figured out how to use the applications and began teaching themselves to read. Within a few months they'd overridden the software meant to freeze the desktop settings, and customized their devices.  But Hertz says this proves her point that being able to use technology does not make you proficient:
“Sure, we can place a tablet in the hands of children who have never seen a package label or a sign, and they will learn on their own. But what happens when and if those children become connected to the larger, global online community? It is not guaranteed that they will be ready to navigate etiquette and intellectual property rights on their own. “
Instead, Hertz writes, we should call students "digital citizens," which implies a more complicated relationship with technology—not innate proficiency.
She is not the first to argue that teachers cannot assume students know how to properly navigate the digital world. Jody Passanisi and Shara Peters said in Scientific American that students struggle with basic Internet searches, and a majority of teachers in a recent Pew Research Center survey said students need more training in finding credible information online.
Perhaps Hertz' claim boils down to semantics. Aren't 'digital natives' simply those who've only known a world in which electronic devices are the primary means of accessing information? The term brings to mind this video.

Source:  Education Week Teacher (slightly abridged and adapted)