TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Researchers unveiled a groundbreaking study on Monday (Nov. 24) that challenges stereotypes about the digital abilities of Indigenous students in Taiwan. The National Academy for Educational Research (國家教育研究院) found that these students excel in online video remixing, outperforming their non-Indigenous peers.
The study, conducted in collaboration with Academia Sinica's (中央研究院) Institute of Sociology researcher Wu Chyi-in (吳齊殷) and Institute of Ethnology director Jou Yuh-huey (周玉慧), tracked students from grades 7 to 9. Nearly 500 Indigenous students demonstrated comparable skills to non-Indigenous students in applying copyrighted materials, with both groups scoring around 80% in intellectual property awareness by the end of grade 9.
Indigenous students also demonstrated significant improvement in cloud-sharing skills, increasing from 77.08% in grade 7 to 81.46% in grade 9, surpassing the performance of non-Indigenous students. This progress indicates a narrowing digital divide, with Indigenous students gaining confidence and competence in digital environments.
The National Academy for Educational Research also noted that Indigenous students display a strong sense of self-identity in online video remixing and are closing the gap with non-Indigenous students in the use of cloud technology. This research dispels the myth that Indigenous students have weaker digital capabilities.
