The Net Generation: Characteristics and How They Learn
Characteristics of Traditional Age College Students (18 – 22 year-olds), (Oblinger,
2005)
Are fascinated by new technologies
Think their parents are great and feel close to them
Believe being smart is cool
Are busy with extracurricular activities
Enjoy group activities
Are diverse
Concentrate on performance and grades
More visually literate
Learn better through discovery
Able to multitask
Are always connected
Are fast to respond and expect the same in return
Gravitate toward social activities
Crave interactivity
Once we understand the characteristics of the traditional age college student, we can
tailor our lessons to meet his/her learning styles. Every generation has unique
characteristics that help define their personalities including likes and dislikes, which can
help us adapt our teaching methods to better suit the students’ needs.
The net generation is more visual and kinesthetic and may refuse to read large blocks of
text (Oblinger, 2005). By breaking up the amount of required reading in smaller
increments and providing more visual elements, the students are more likely to
complete the work and understand it better.
Students today crave interaction (Oblinger, 2005) – they want to be active participants
in the classroom. We can get them involved through Socratic questioning, games,
discussions, group projects, presentations and peer teaching. Janet McCormick, assistant
professor in Speech and Theatre at MTSU, uses games to actively involve her students.
Once a week, the students divide into groups of three to four people to play games
such as Taboo, Outburst, and Pictionary that have been adapted to fit the curriculum.
“It is a fun way to learn,” remarked McCormick. “They keep a reflective journal of the
process and how others in their group respond and learn.” McCormick’s teaching
method of incorporating games into the learning appeals to several of the net generation
characteristics such as: preference for group activities, interactivity, gravitation to be
social, and their fast response.
Kathy Patten, Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership at MTSU, combines
technology, group projects, and discovery in the majority of her class assignments. “In
the hybrid classes I teach, I always have at least one group project where the students
communicate within their group through the WebCT discussion board and meet
physically to work on and complete their projects,” Patten stated. “I also have the
students post the finished project on a webpage or wiki for the other groups to
review.” Ms. Patten’s students are learning through active participation in a group, by
conducting research, forming a hypothesis, and by collaborating with others to complete
the project. They are discovering information from their research and from their peer’s
work.
Understanding the characteristics of the net generation can help us connect with them
better. They crave interaction and like visual components (Oblinger, 2005). Graphic
planners or mapping can be easily applied to any discipline, or showing related images
from the Internet, movies, or library can help facilitate the lesson. Ask questions. Get
the students involved in discussions and get to know them. They want to learn, but we
have to adapt our teaching to their learning styles in order to improve retention.
REFERENCES
Oblinger, Diana G. and James L. Educating the Net Generation. Educause, North Carolina
State University, 2005.
Educating the Net Generation is available electronically from the Educause website at
www.educause.edu/educatingthenetgen/.