What’s in a Name?
Digital Natives, Millennials, Net Generation
Marilyn Puchalski
Engagement Institute
Spring 2007
About Whom Are We Speaking?
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Born between 1982 and 2002
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Generation Y
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Digital Natives (Marc Prensky)
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Net Generation
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Millennials (William Strauss & Neil Howe)
Marc Prensky’s Take
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Digital Natives
Technologically fluent
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Digital Immigrants
TSL – technology as a second language
Speak with a “digital accent”
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Prensky
uses these terms to describe the
disconnect between today’s learners and
today’s teachers/parents
Digital Natives …
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Rapid access to information from
multiple sources
Multi-tasking
Multi-media over text
Random access to information
Networked interactions with
multiple people
Just-in-time learning
Immediate rewards
Relevant, useful, fun learning
Digital Immigrants …
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Controlled information
access, limited sources
Doing one thing at a time
Text
Sequential information
processing
Independent work
Deferred rewards
Serious learners
How do Natives use technology?
Communication (cell/email/IM)
 Social Life (MySpace/IM)
 Research
 Productivity Applications
 Organizing life (calendars/PDAs)
 Shopping
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Quiz…
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Do you check email at least 3X a day?
Do you Google for information at least 5X a
day?
Do you use your mobile phone for more
than one thing?
Have you turned over remembering to a
technology device?
Do you shop online more than the mall?
Do you have a wireless network at home?
Do you “text” instead of calling?
Do you IM?
Today’s Learners…
are about access and interaction …
anytime, anyplace.
Informal Learning Important
Learning ecology
 Mobility make this possible
 Social networking
 Collaboration
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What do Natives Expect?
Mobility (wireless, power)
 Self help
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Online answers
 FAQs
 Google
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24/7 services (tutorials, library,
payments, tech support)
 Communicate online
 Use technology for learning
(LMS,PPT, etc.)
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What do Natives like?
Creativity – give them opportunities
 Multimedia formats
 Varied class activities (short
segments)
 Engagement with materials
 Engagement with the world
 Self help
 Immediacy
 Collaboration
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What do Natives need?
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Interaction with real people F2F
Peers
 Faculty – low stakes, one-on-one
conversations
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Instruction about IL
 Warnings about MySpace, etc.
 Crash course in application software
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The Millennial Generation:
Blessing or Curse in the Classroom
Terri M. Manning, EdD
Director, Center for Applied Research
Central Piedmont Community College
The Millennial Childhood
The most monumental financial boom
in history.
 Steady income growth through the
1990’s.
 Still great disparity between races.
 Saw their parents lose all their stocks
and mutual funds (college funds)
during the early 2000’s.
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Demographic Trends
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Smaller families: Only
children will comprise
about 10% of the
population.
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More parental education: 1 in 4 has at least
one parent with a college degree.
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Kids born in the late ‘90s are the first in
American history whose mothers are better
educated than their fathers by a small
margin.
Major Influencing Factors
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Their parents
The self-esteem movement
The customer service movement
Gaming and technology
Casual communication
Parenting Millennials
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This generation is being parented by welleducated, over-involved adults who
participate in “deliberate
parenting.” They have
outcomes in mind.
Boomers were the first
generation to be thrown
out in to an unsafe world
as adolescents.
The 60’s and 70’s were very scary and many
of us felt unprepared for it.
We were naïve and didn’t have enough tools
in our tool box to deal with it.
Baby Boomers as Parents
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Boomers rebelled against the parenting
practices of their parents.
Strict discipline was the order
of the day for boomers.
They made conscious decisions
not to say “because I told you
so” or “because I’m the parent
and you’re the child.”
Boomers became more
“friendly” with their children.
They wanted to have open lines of
communication and a relationship with them.
Baby Boomers as Parents
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They explained things to their children, (actions,
consequences, options, etc.) – they wanted them
to learn to make informed decisions.
They allowed their children to have input into
family decisions, educational options and
discipline issues.
We told them “just because it is on
television doesn’t mean it’s true”
or “you can’t believe everything
you read.”
We wanted them to question
authority.
The Result
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Millennials have become
“a master set of
negotiators” who are
capable of rational thought
and decision-making skills at
young ages.
They will negotiate with anyone
including their parents, teachers
and school administrators.
Some call this “arguing.”
Helicopter Parents
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Helicopter Parent (n) A
parent who hovers over his
or her children.
Or Snowplow parent: Parents who clear
the way for their children
……these (echo) boomers are confident,
achievement-oriented and used to hovering
"helicopter" parents keeping tabs on
their every move. (Anthony DeBarros,
"New baby boom swamps colleges," USA
Today, January 2, 2003)
Baby Boomer Parents have been their
Biggest Cheerleaders
Millennials expect and
need praise.
 Will mistake silence for
disapproval.
 Millennials expect
feedback.
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Focus on Self-esteem
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This generation was the center
of the “self-esteem” movement.
9,068 books were written about
self-esteem and children during
the 80s and 90s (there were 485 in the 70s).
Focus on Self-esteem
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The state of California spent millions studying the
construct and published a document entitled
“Toward a State of Self-esteem.”
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Yet they can’t escape the angst of adolescence –
they still feel disconnected, question their existence,
purpose and the meaning of life. They want to feel
valued and cared about.
Focus on Customer Service
Expect access (24/7)
 Expect things to work like
they are supposed to
 If they don’t “that is your
problem”
 They want what they have paid for
 Everything comes with a toll-free
number or web address
 Want a “system restore”
option in classes
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Add the Impact of Gaming
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Gaming has impacted children
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The game endings changed based
on the decisions children made
(Role Playing Games) impacting locus
of control.
Involves a complex set of decisionmaking skills.
Teaches them to take multiple
pieces of data and make decisions
quickly.
Learning more closely resembles
Nintendo, a trial and error approach to
solving problems.
We navigated our way
through…..
They navigated their way through…..
Technology
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This generation has been plugged in since
they were babies.
They grew up with educational software and
computer games.
They think technology should be free.
They want and expect
services 24/7.
They do not live in an
8–5 world.
They function in an
international world.
Millennials Want to Learn
With technology
With each other
Online
In their time
In their place
Doing things that
matter (most
important)
Source: Achievement and the 21st Century Learner.
By age 21…..
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It is estimated that the
average child will have:
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Spent 10,000 hours playing video games
Sent 200,000 emails
Spent 20,000 hours watching TV
Spent 10,000 hours on their cell phone
Spent under 5,000 hours reading
But these are issues of income. Will a child
who grows up in a low income household
have these same experiences?
Source: Educause
What About 1st Generation Students?
Not all students will be proficient; firstgeneration and students from working
class families may have less experience.
 Their experience with technology has
been in arcades and minimally in school
(poorer districts.)
 They have not had the exposure to
educational uses of technology.
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What About 1st Generation Students?
We need another placement test –
remedial keyboarding and technology.
 Huge digital divide between the “haves”
and the “have nots” based on income
levels (class).
 Digital divide is appearing in pre-K.
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The “Information Age” Mindset
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Students have never known life without the
computer. It is an assumed part of life.
The Internet is a source of research,
interactivity, and socializing (they prefer it
over TV).
Doing is more important than knowing.
There is zero tolerance for delays.
The infrastructure and the
lecture tradition of colleges
may not meet the expectations
of students raised on the Internet and
interactive games.
Cell Phone Technology
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They all have cell phones and expect
to be in contact 24/7.
Not a phone – a lifestyle management tool
Staying “connected” is essential.
Communication is a safety issue for
parents.
Communication has become
casual for students (IM, email
and cell phones.
How has this changed how they
interact with faculty?
Issues for Schools, Colleges and Universities
in an Information Age
Plagiarism (consumer/creator
blurring)
 Cheating (must define it)
 Cell Phone Policies
 Typing vs. Handwriting
 Use of paper mills
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From: The Information Age Mindset: Changes in Students and Implications for
Higher Education. By Jason L. Frand. Educause. Sep/Oct 2000.
Attitudes ……..
Source: Educause
TV
Generation
“Boomers”
PC
Generation
“Gen X”
Net
Generation
“Millennials”
Web
What is it?
Web is a tool Web is
oxygen
Community
Personal
Extended
Personal
Virtual
Perspective
Local
Multinational
Global
Career
One career
Multiple
careers
Multiple
reinventions
Loyalty
Corporation Self
Authority
Hierarchy
Soul
Unimpressed Self as
expert
2004 Research Study
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Central Piedmont Community College’s Center
for Applied Research was contracted to do
this study by the Workforce Development
Board.
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Data collected January–March 2004 from the
University of NC at Charlotte, Central Piedmont
Community College and Johnson C. Smith
University.
Funded By:
Some Major Themes From the
Study
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They like teachers who pay attention to
their needs, schedules and interests.
They like working in teams but are not
given a lot of opportunity to do so.
Their job expectations immediately out
of college are not as high as previous
generations (65% expect to earn 40K or
less).
They want to do meaningful work (more
important than money)
Some Major Themes
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They expect to have 4–6 jobs in their
lifetime.
They expect to someday acquire the
lifestyle they grew up with.
They expect to have a 2-income family.
Security and time for family are the two
most important quality of life variables.
Think their parents did a great job and
don’t think their generation can improve
family life over how their parents raised
them.
How They Will Push Us…
More independence in the workforce
 Consumer-based fairness
 Better technology
 Enhanced professional development
 Get rid of “that’s the way we’ve
always done it”
 Have more life balance
 Re-establish priorities
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So How Do We Work With
Them?
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Because they have grown up in a different
world, never assume that they know
certain things like:
You don’t want to talk to their mother
when they are having problems.
 You don’t get points for showing up or
an A for effort.
 The definition of plagiarism and
cheating.
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So How Do We Work With
Them?
It’s not appropriate to call the professor at
home after 9pm.
 They can’t use IM language in papers.
 It’s not okay to email the professor 10
times a day.
 That when they email you at 3am, you’re
not sitting on the other end waiting to
respond to them.
 The business office (and most others)
close at 5pm.
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What Should Institutions
Do?
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Develop policies and practices around
appropriate communication (by
department).
Give them access to as much as is
philosophically possible.
Draw a line on negotiations.
Stop existing in an 8-5 world.
Look into what is known about learning.
Try to actively engage them.
Create alterative ways for the low-tech
students to come up to speed.
What does this mean for
engagement?
How are we defining
engagement?
Pascarella and Terenzini…
Characteristics of learning and
development (6 Touchstones)
Encounter challenging ideas/people
Engage those challenges
Requires supportive environment
Involves real-world activities
Is a social activity
Is not limited by time or space
Rules of Engagement
Capture their attention
 Convince them to care (WIIFM)
 Motivate them to own their learning
 Provide them with choices
 Connect them to each other and to
you
 Induce them to participate
 Make it an experience to remember
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Ellen D. Wagner, Adobe, Inc.
BCCC and Engagement
 What
are we doing well?
 What
do we need to improve?
 What
do we need to move
forward?
Resources
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Marc Prensky
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http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/
Millennials Rising
http://www.williamstrauss.com/
 Educause Learning Initiative
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http://www.educause.edu/eli
ECAR Key Findings
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http://www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailP
age/666?ID=EKF0607