Educating the Net
Generation
Diana G. Oblinger, Ph.D.
Copyright Diana G. Oblinger, 2005. This work is the intellectual property of the
author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial,
educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the
reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the
author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from
the author.
Environment
Product of the environment
Baby
Boomers

TV generation

Typewriters

Telephone

Memos

Family focus
Generation
X
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•
Video games
PC
Email
CDs
Individualist
Net Gen
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•
Web
Cell phone
IM
MP3s
Online
communities
Children age 6 and under
• 2:01 hours / day playing outside
• 1:58 hours using screen media
• 40 minutes reading or being read to
• 48%
of children have used a
computer
• 27%
4-6 year olds use a computer
daily
• 39%
use a computer several
times a week
• 30% have played video games
– Kaiser Family Foundation, 2003
Media exposure
By age 21, the average person will
have spent
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•
10,000 hours video games
200,000 emails
20,000 hours TV
10,000 hours
cell phone
Under 5,000 hours reading
– Prensky, 2003
Neuroplasticity
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The brain reorganizes itself throughout life:
neuroplasticity
Stimulation changes brain structures; the brain
changes and organizes itself based on the
inputs it receives
Different developmental experiences impact
how people think
For example, language learned
later in life goes into a different
place in the brain than when
language is learned as a child
―Prensky, 2001
Net Generation
The Net Generation
• Born in or after 1982
• Gravitate toward group activity
• 8 out of 10 say “it’s cool to be smart”
• Focused on grades and performance
• Busy with extracurricular activities
• Identify with parents’ values;
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•
•
feel close to parents
Respectful of social
conventions and institutions
Fascination for new
technologies
Racially and ethnically
diverse
―Howe & Strauss, 2003
Today’s learners
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•
•
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•
Digital
Connected
Experiential
Immediate
Social
Net gen learning preferences
• Teams, peer-to-peer
• Engagement & experience
• Visual & kinesthetic
• Things that matter
Web as a reference library
Games are a way of life
•
69% have played games since
elementary school
•
•
•
•
•
•
77% of students have played games
by high school
60% of college students are regular game players
Games are part of students’ multitasking environment
Games are integrated into daily life (and studying)
29 is the average age of a game player
$7 billion: Game sales in 2002
--Jones, 2003
Concerns
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Web as information universe not the library
Source quality
Text literacy
Short attention span
Multitasking
Fast response time
Reflection
Attitudes
TV Generation
PC
Generation
Net
Generation
What is it?
Web is a tool
Web is oxygen
Community
Personal
Extended
personal
Virtual
Perspective
Local
Multi-national
Global
Career
One career
Multiple
careers
Multiple
reinvention
Loyalty
Corporation
Self
Soul
Hierarchy
Unimpressed
Self as expert
Web
Authority
―Savage, 2003
Student in-class preferences
Moderate IT
40
Percentage
Extensive IT
30
Limited IT
20
10
No IT
Online
0
―Kvavik, 2004
Age vs. learning preferences
Mature
60
63%
Boomer
Students who were very
satisfied with Web-based
learning by generation
55%
40
Gen X
Percentage
38%
30
Net Gen
26%
20
10
0
―Dziuban, 2004
Adding not replacing
Online
Blended
communication
Learner expectations
• Head: knowledge of subject
• Hands: teaching skills
―Clear and systematic presentation
―Teaching at the right level
―Use of learning aids
―Stimulating student interest and
thinking
―Encouraging active learning
• Heart: concern for students
―Helpfulness
―Empathy for students
―Enthusiasm for subject and
teaching
―Noakes, 2005
What can you do?
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Make learning interactive and experiential
Consider peer-to-peer approaches
Utilize real-world applications
Emphasize information literacy in courses
Mix online and
face-to-face
Encourage reflection
Create opportunities for
synthesis
Use informal learning opportunities
Nontraditional
learners
Time-constrained learners
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35% of undergraduates are adult learners
87% commute
80% work
At risk:
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Part-time enrollment
Delaying entry into postsecondary ed
Lack of high school diploma
Having children
Being a single parent
Working full time
– NCES, 2003
Traditional targets of blame
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7% academic difficulties
3% academic load too heavy
1% poor advisement
– Bleed, 2005
Limitations to learning
Work limits:
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46%
39%
30%
30%
class schedules
number of classes
course options
access to library
80%
participation in
extracurricular activities
– AACC, 2004
Life interruptions
Health issues
Financial problems
Family
responsibilities
Work
responsibilities
Job shift
Transportation
problems
Limited time
– Bleed, 2005
What can you do?
Nontraditional learners have unique needs
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Make classes flexible
Provide online options
Tailor support systems to
the students’ needs
Get data about what works
Engagement &
interaction
Questions that count
• Concept
inventories
• Student response
units
• Immediate results
keep students
engaged
• Allows real-time
modification of
instruction
Two metal balls are the same size, but one
weighs twice as much as the other. The balls
are dropped from the top of a two story
building at the same instant of time. The time
it takes the balls to reach the ground below
will be:
A. About half as long for the heavier ball
B. About half as long for the lighter ball
C. About the same time for both balls
D. Considerably less for the lighter ball,
but not necessarily half as long
E. Considerably less for the heavier ball,
but not necessarily half as long
Collaborative
projects
Ancient Spaces: Developed by the Faculty of the Arts, University of British Columbia
Historical simulation
• Players choose leadership of a country
• Interaction with variables on the economy,
policy, military, natural resources
• In multiplayer
mode, players can
IM each other
Augmented reality
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Players briefed about rash of local health
problems linked to the environment
Provided with background information
and “budget”
Need to determine source of pollution by
drilling sampling wells and ultimately
remediate with pumping wells
Work in teams representing different
interests (EPA, industry, etc.)
―Klopfer & Squire, 2003
Alternative instructional strategies
Improvement compared with traditional methods
Pedagogical approach
Net effect
(std. dev.)
Active learning
0.25
Computer-assisted
0.31
Cooperative learning
0.51
Small group learning
0.51
– Pascaralla & Terenzini, 2005
Redefining space
• Social
• Interactive
• Flexible
• Multipurpose
• Reconfigurable
• Open
Reconfiguring activities and space
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SCALE-UP: Student Centered Activities for Large
Enrollment Undergraduate Programs
Class time spent on tangibles and ponderables
Problem solving, conceptual
understanding and attitudes
are improved
Failure rates are
reduced
dramatically
“The job is not to
teach physics but
to teach thinking.”
--Beichner & Saul, 2003
Informal spaces
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Students spend more time out of class than in it
“Capture time” is particularly important for non-residential
students
Learning occurs through conversations, web surfing,
social interactions
Team projects
Spontaneous interactions
Mingle, share, make connections
Kids
Intuitive understanding
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•
•
Began with children in New Delhi slum
Children taught themselves to surf the
Net, read news, download games
Replicated in many locations: children
learn to browse the Internet without
instruction
―www.hole-in-the-wall.com
Growth in Internet use
2005
Growth
since
2000
Use the Internet
87%
73%
Go online daily
51%
42%
Play games online
81%
52%
Get news online
76%
38%
– Lenhart, et al. 2005
Teens and technology
84%
Own 1+ personal media device
45%
Have own cell phone
75%
Use IM
57%
Get college information online
38%
Send text messages via cell phone
– Lenhart, et al. 2005
What kids want from the net
New & exciting
Learn
more/better
Community
Show others
what I can do
Be heard
0
Base: Kids 9-17
20
40
60
Percentage
80
100
– Grunwald, 2003
Multitasking while online
Listen to
radio while
online
Watch TV
while online
Talk on
phone while
online
Visit a site mentioned by
someone on the phone
Send an IM to
person you’re
talking to
Visit website
seen on TV
Visit website
mentioned on
radio
– Grunwald, 2004
Media saturated lives
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6:21
hours watching TV
26% of the time kids use more than 2
media simultaneously
8:33 of media messages
1:02 using computer other than for
school work
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49 minutes playing video games
43 minutes of recreational reading
(Children ages 8-18)
– Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005
The next generation
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Represents a new set of characteristics
Not expert users; laptop as a tool
Speed-dominated culture
Screen culture
Independence from parents;
dependence on peers
Spatial flexibility (real & virtual)
Culture of childhood being replaced by
adult created toys and games
– Backon, et al. 2003; Elkind, 2003
Generational
comparison
Net Gen experience base
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Ctrl + Alt + Del is as basic as ABC
They have never been able to find the “return” key
Computers have always fit in their backpacks
They have always had a personal identification number
Photographs have always
been processed in an hour
or less
Bert and Ernie are old
enough to be their parents
Gas has always been
unleaded
Rogaine has always been
available for the follicularly
challenged
--Beloit College, 2003, 2004
Text vs. visual
Not an age phenomenon
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Are you more comfortable composing documents online
than long-hand?
Have you turned your “remembering” over to a technology
device (phone numbers, meetings, etc.)?
Do you go to meetings with your laptop or PDA?
Are you constantly connected? (The Internet is always on
whether you are at home or work? Your cell phone is
always with you?)
How many different activities can you effectively engage
in at one time?
Do you play video or computer games?
―Suter, 2001
Comfort zones differ
Students
Multitasking
Pictures, sound, video
Random access
Faculty
Single or limited tasks
Text
Linear, logical, sequential
Interactive and networked Independent and individual
Engaging
Spontaneous
Disciplined
Deliberate
―adapted from Himes, 2004
Student advice
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Be engaging; challenge us
Be responsive: answer voice mails and emails; office hours still
matter
Be seen: we’d like to see you and get to know you outside of class
Set boundaries: tell us when you’re available
Use technology appropriately: don’t be
“Power Pointless”
Use real world, relevant examples
Be an active participant in class; show
you are excited about the subject
Ask students what they think
Not everything needs to be on the Web
―Windham, 2005
Steps to take
1. Decide what is important
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Its not technology alone: Technology does not dazzle this
generation; they are interested in function/activity
Knowledge construction: Reasoning is not linear, deductive or
abstract but begins from the concrete and assembles a “mosaic”
Interactivity: This is a connected, interactive generation;
collaboration and interaction are important learning principles
Formal & informal: Learning can
occur anywhere, anytime
Adaptation: It is not about
whether you are a digital native
but whether you can adapt to
those whose style does not
match your own
– Dede, 2005
2. Determine which learner
characteristics are important
Experiential
Desire to do it for themselves and to “make it their
own” is strong
Non-text
Readily absorb and convey information in non-text
formats
Limited time
Large percentage of students working more than 30
hours per week; commuting population
Opportunistic
style
If there is something of interest, or a question,
learners will look it up on the web
Desire for
personal touch
Being connected with peers is important; interaction
with faculty remains a key satisfier
3. Involve students
• Students as consumers with a choice
• They have a unique perspective on their
learning environment
• Input ranges from opinion to action
• Language and perspectives differ;
not all students are alike
• “Spend a day in their shoes”
4. Find the right balance
Action
Reflection
Visual
Text
Social
Individual
Process
Content
Speed
Deliberation
Peer-to-peer
Peer review
5. Evaluate and modify
Qualitative and quantitative measures
• Knowledge building
• Organizational change
• Decision-making
• Program development
• Infrastructure development
―Olds, 2005
The goal is an organization that is
constantly making its future rather
than defending its past.
―Hamel & Valiksngas, 2003
doblinger@educause.edu
www.educause.edu/educatingthenetgen
© 2005 All rights reserved