Chair: Margaret Sutherland

Digital gifted students? “Digital natives”? In an increasingly digital age, a particular group of gifted students are not “digital”.

Gifted students from backgrounds of so-called disadvantage are particularly likely to have less access, if any, to technology. A background of disadvantage can mean many things: it may refer to low socio-economic status, cultural minority status, refugee or immigrant status, rural and isolated communities, or to the juvenile justice system. It may also refer to living with an impairment or learning difficulty. And, quite often, it is not known that these gifted students have high ability. Such students tend to be well hidden in schools, and are called “invisible gifted students”.

In my presentation, I will discuss the nature of disadvantage, present a way of identifying high potential in invisible gifted students, and suggest a framework for addressing the technological gap. I will use examples from my research to illustrate each of these concepts.