Yet much of the conversation in education focuses on technology itself rather than the skills required to use it well. We debate devices, apps, platforms and screen time, while paying far less attention to whether children can navigate digital tools effectively, solve problems independently, evaluate information critically and use technology with purpose. The assumption often seems to be that exposure to technology naturally produces digital literacy. I am not convinced it does.

In fact, I am increasingly frustrated by the presence of technology in our schools. The credible evidence that doing schoolwork on iPads or laptops improves academic performance is fast diminishing. A growing body of research suggests that the distractions and dopamine-driven design of these devices undermine deep learning, sustained concentration and focus.

And now we also have AI to consider. Most AI discussions in education currently assume that the objective is to make children highly proficient users of AI tools. I'm not convinced that's the right goal. School exists to develop reasoning, judgement, persistence, creativity and the ability to grapple with difficult problems in our kids. If AI short-circuits those struggles, it will undermine the very foundational capabilities we want schools to develop in our kids.

Our goal should be to raise children who can think effectively, and who understand both the power and limitations of the AI tools they will inevitably encounter.

If we are serious about preparing children for a digital future, we should spend less time asking which devices they use and more time asking what skills they are learning and what skills they need to thrive in any future.

Who sets this direction?

I was born in 1980. I grew up surrounded by floppy disks, monochrome CRT screens and Commodore 64s. Half my life was distinctly pre-internet; and the other half has been deeply immersed in the digital world. I bought my first digital camera in the late 1990s. In the 2000s I studied commerce and information systems and wrote my thesis on computing metaphors while starting a side hustle as a self-taught graphic designer.

In the 2010s, my partners and I built one of South Africa’s most successful e-commerce companies. After taking my next business through Y Combinator in 2018, my wife and I moved our young family to San Francisco, where we lived for three and a half years riding the roller coaster that is Silicon Valley. All this is to say, I have spent my life immersed in technology.

I recognise that this immersion might bias me toward seeing technology as being more important than it might be. Still, I feel well placed to identify a baseline of core digital competencies that have served me well for over 30 years, and whose absence I see causing many people in all walks of life unnecessary frustration.

These skills are not glamorous, nor are they laced with dopamine. But they are critical building blocks for thriving in almost every future industry. Neglect them, and our children will be as unprepared for the digital world as a child who finishes school with a barely passable level of reading and writing.

Core Digital Competencies for Kids

Ages 6–7 (Foundation Stage)

Goal: Comfort with basic technology, navigation and understanding tech as a tool, not a toy.

Basic Operations

• Turning a computer/tablet on/off properly

• Logging in with a password (not just Face ID)

• Understanding passwords and how they work

• Opening and closing applications

• Using a mouse, trackpad and keyboard

• Understanding the difference between files and programs

Navigation & Safety

• What a web browser is

• Typing in a simple URL

• Understanding what a link is and how to click it

• Staying on task by not switching tabs

• Introduction to internet safety (e.g. stranger danger online)

Digital Mindset

• Computers as tools for creating, not just consuming

• Knowing that things live in folders and files

Ages 8–9 (Foundational Skills)

Goal: Become functionally independent using computers to find, create, and share simple information.

Core Skills

• Typing with all fingers (not just hunting and pecking)

• Typing: 10mins per day x 3 times a week = 15 words per min goal

• Copying and pasting text, images, files and folders across ecosystems

• Taking and saving screenshots — and then finding those screenshots

• Refreshing a browser page

• Searching Google effectively (basic search terms)

Productivity Tools

• Introduction to Google Docs: writing, formatting text

• Saving files with useful names

• Finding saved files again

• Using drawing programs to paint

• Introduction to email

Safety & Etiquette

• Knowing what personal info not to share online

• Understanding and being introduced to the idea that extended time on screens is not healthy, and noticing that kids are far more irate are after extended screen time

• Understanding cyberbullying basics

Ages 10–11 (Tool-Based Confidence)

Goal: Use a computer as a confident creator. Know how to solve basic tech problems independently.

Skills & Shortcuts

• Mastering keyboard shortcuts: copy, paste, undo, new tab, refresh etc.

• Typing: 10mins per day x 3 times a week = 30 words per min goal

• Working between two tabs and switching seamlessly between them

• Using and creating browser bookmarks

• Attaching files to emails

Tools & Apps

• Creating a slide presentation (e.g. Google Slides, PowerPoint)

• Creating folders and organising files

• Using a basic spreadsheet: rows, columns, simple sums

• Using typing tutors to improve words per minute

Thinking Critically

• Recognising ads and clickbait

• Evaluating if a source looks trustworthy

• Understanding digital footprint

Ages 12–13 (Applied Digital Fluency & AI Awareness)

Goal: Operate like a young digital native with intention, not addiction. Understand what AI is, where it is being used, and when it helps or hinders learning.

Applied Skills

• Researching and evaluating online information

• Collaborating on shared documents

• Typing: 10mins per day x 3 times a week = 60 words per min goal

• Formatting essays and reports with headers, spacing, citations

• Understanding cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox)

• Understanding file size and how that impacts speed of your device, share-ability and storage

• Editing basic images (e.g. Canva or Google Drawings)

• Using Zoom or video conferencing for a school project

• Thinking about your inbox and learning how to manage it best to remain focussed

Advanced Digital Literacy

• Understanding phishing and scams

• Creating strong passwords and managing them

• Learning the difference between productive vs addictive tech use

• Building a simple website or blog

• Creating a podcast or basic video edit

Understanding AI

• Understanding that AI predicts answers rather than "knowing" facts

• Recognising common AI tools and where they appear (search engines, recommendations, chatbots)

• Knowing that AI can be wrong, biased or confidently incorrect

• Understanding that AI-generated content may not be accurate

Critical Thinking

• Comparing AI-generated answers with trusted sources

• Learning to verify important information independently

• Recognising when a piece of text, image or video may have been generated by AI

• Understanding that convenience is not the same as truth

• Understanding that the more heavily you rely on AI, the more your output will look like everyone else's, will be identifiable as AI and the faster people will lose trust in you.

Learning & Integrity

• Understanding when AI can assist learning and when it can replace thinking

• Recognising the difference between using AI as a tutor and using AI to do the work for you

• Discussing why struggle, practice and repetition remain essential to mastery

• Understanding plagiarism in an age of AI-generated content

Optional (Advanced)

• Introductory discussions on LLMs

• Intro to coding (Python, Javascript, HTML, CSS)

• Understanding how computers work (CPU, memory, storage)

Recommendations for Parents & Schools

• No iPads unless justified: Prefer keyboards and real computers for learning.

• Daily touch typing: 10 minutes of focused typing a day is transformational.

• Structured computer time: Scheduled blocks for creating, not browsing.

• Clear boundaries: No notifications, locked-down browsers during schoolwork.

• Parent-led reflection: Ask kids what they made or learned on the computer today, not what they watched.

• AI awareness, not AI dependence: Teach children what AI is, where it is useful, where it is unreliable, and why they should learn to think before asking a machine to think for them.

• Protect the struggle: Schools exist to develop understanding, judgement and persistence. These qualities are forged through effort, frustration and repetition. The struggle is not a by-product of learning; it is the mechanism by which learning happens. AI risks us forgetting this. The goal was never the 800-word essay. The goal was to spend six hours wrestling with ideas, language, structure and argument. The essay was simply the challenge we set for kids to achieve the goal of struggle. When we use AI to shortcut our way to the finished product, we risk undermining the very process that education is meant to cultivate.