the next generation learner diana g. oblinger, ph.d. copyright diana oblinger, 2004. this work is...
TRANSCRIPT
The Next Generation Learner
The Next Generation Learner
Diana G. Oblinger, Ph.D.
Copyright Diana Oblinger, 2004. 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.
―
The goal is an organization that is constantly making its future rather
than defending its past.
The goal is an organization that is constantly making its future rather
than defending its past.
―Hamel & Valiksngas, 2003
―
KidsKids
Children age 6 and under
• 2.01 hours / day playing outside
• 1.58 hours using computers
• 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
00
1.01.0
2.02.0
PlayPlayoutsideoutside
Use Use computercomputer
ReadingReading
– Kaiser Family Foundation, 2003
Teen’s web use
• 100% use the Internet to seek information on colleges, careers and jobs
• 74% of teens use IM as a major communication vehicle vs. 44% of online adults
• 54% of students (grades 7-12) know more IM screen names than home phone numbers
• The Internet is a primary communication tool― 81% email friends and relatives― 70% use instant messaging to keep in touch― 56% prefer the Internet to the telephone
– Lenhart, Simon & Graziano, 2001; NetDay, 2003
What kids want from the net
– Grunwald Associates, 2003
New & exciting
Base: Kids 9-17
0 10080604020
Learnmore/better
Community
Show otherswhat I can do
Be heard
Percentage
Kids are informed and influential
• 41% go online to get information about products/services before buying
• 65% go online to get information about products/services for parents
• 63% of kids discuss important family decisions with parents (family vacation, family car, PC purchase, etc.)
• 34% have emailed a company to ask, comment or complain about a product or service
• 20% say the Internet is a way for “my voice and opinion to be heard”
• 31% go online to vote for their favorite things (videos, TV shows, products)
– Yankelovich Youth Monitor, 2003
What would you do without the Internet?
• “We could not do any schoolwork”
• “We have to have the most current, up to date information to be accurate”
• “Devastated—everything would be so much harder and take so much longer to do”
• “We depend upon having the Internet now”
How would your schoolwork be affected if you no longer had access to the Internet anywhere?
– – NetDay, 2003NetDay, 2003
―
College studentsCollege students
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; feel close to parents
• Respectful of social conventions and institutions
• Fascination for new technologies
• Racially and ethnically diverse
―Howe & Strauss, 2003―Howe & Strauss, 2003
Media literacy
• 10,000 hours video games
• 200,000 emails
• 20,000 hours TV
• 10,000 hours cell phone
• Under 5,000 hours reading
By age 21, the average person will have spent
– Prensky, 2003
00
50005000
1000010000
1500015000
2000020000
2500025000
E-mailsE-mailsVideo Video GamesGames
ReadingReading
TelevisionTelevision
Cell Cell PhonePhone
Neuroplasticity
• The brain reorganizes itself throughout life: neuroplasticity
• Stimulation changes brain structures; the brain 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―Prensky, 2001
Today’s learners
• Digitally literate
• Mobile
• Always on
• Experiential
• Community-oriented
Hypertext minds
• Crave interactivity
• Read visual images
• Visual-spatial skills
• Parallel processing
• Inductive discovery
• Attentional deployment
• Fast response time
• Short attention spans
• Choose not to pay attention
• Reflection
• Practice
• Text literacy
• Source quality
QualitiesQualities ConcernsConcerns
――Prensky, 2001Prensky, 2001――Prensky, 2001Prensky, 2001
NetGen learning preferences
• Teams, peer-to-peer
• Structure
• Engagement & experience
• Visual & kinesthetic
• Things that matter
Informal learning
• The largest discretionary block of time for students is outside of class
• Informal learning is self-directed, internally motivated and unconstrained by time, place or formal structures
• Learners construct their own courses of learning, often facilitated by technology
―Sheppard, 2000; Dede 2004
• “The full range of students’ learning styles is undercut when interaction is limited to classroom settings.”
Rising expectations
• The rising expectations of computer-literate constituents are difficult to meet
• Service expectations―Self-service ―Customer-service―Immediacy―Customization―Choice
• Students want customizable learning experiences
• They are more vocal in expressing their opinions
Sharing opinions
Non-traditional becomes traditional
• 43% are 24 or older (i.e., of non-traditional college age)
• 80% are employed; 39% are employed full-time
• 10% or undergraduates have a disability
• Non-traditional defined as:―Part-time enrollment―Delaying entry into post-secondary education―Lack of high school diploma―Having children―Being a single parent―Financially independent―Working full time while enrolled
―NCES, 2003
Three-fourths of students are “non-traditional”
English as a second language
– NCES, 2004
White
Base: High school sophomores
0 604020
African-American
Hispanic
Asian
Percentage
Adult learners
• 35% of undergraduates are adult learners
• 70% of all adult learners are female
• 38 is the median age of undergraduate adult learners
• 80% of adult learners are employed
– Swail, 2002 citing NCES, 2002
Educational goal:
•70% Degree
•30% Non-degree
Swirling
– NCES, 2001
0
20
40
10
30
Co-enrolled
Transferred
Attended more than 1 institution
―
Generational comparisonGenerational comparison
Freshman experience base
• 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
--Beloit College, 2003, 2004
• 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
What is….
• FOAF
• Blog
• Wikipedia
• Orcut
• Flickr
• Slashdotted
• RSS
• Swarming
• Blogrolling
Friend of a friend
Web log
Community controlled encyclopedia
Social networking
Photo trading community
Geekdom fame for a day; referenced by Slashdot
News aggregator; syndication
Spontaneous group formation
Website links to increase stature of friends’ blogs
Not an age phenomenon
• 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 have over 15 years experience playing video or computer games?
―Suter, 2001―Suter, 2001
Product of the environment
• Video games
• Computers
GenerationGenerationXX
GenerationGenerationXX
• The Web
• Mobile devices
• IM
Net GenNet GenNet GenNet GenBaby Baby BoomersBoomers
Baby Baby BoomersBoomers
TV generation Typewriters Memos
Attitudes
TV GenerationPC
GenerationNet
Generation
Web What is it? Web is a tool Web is oxygen
Community PersonalExtended personal
Virtual
Perspective Local Multi-national Global
Career One careerMultiple careers
Multiple reinvention
Loyalty Corporation Self Soul
Authority Hierarchy Unimpressed Self as expert
―Savage, 2003―Savage, 2003
Age vs. online preferences
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Mature Boomer Gen X Millenial
63%55%
38%
26%
(N = 27) (N = 324) (N = 814) (N = 344)
―Dzuiban, 2004―Dzuiban, 2004
Students who were very satisfied with Web-based learning by generation
Students who were very satisfied with Web-based learning by generation
Student in-class preferences
―Kvavik, 2004―Kvavik, 2004
0
20
40
10
30
Limited IT
Moderate IT
No IT
Extensive IT
Online
Per
cen
tag
e
―
Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was
designed to teach.
Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was
designed to teach.
―Prensky, 2001
―
First-person learningFirst-person learning
Engaging learning experiences
LectureQ&A
Facilitated discussion
Case study
Debate
Problem solving
Game
Real project
Voting
Passive Active
Em
otio
nally
eng
agin
g
Active learning and IT
--Watson, 2004
Critical thinking
Problem solving
Gathering &
evaluating
information
Cooperative
groups
Learning to learn
Communication
skills
Varied learning
experiences
Analyzing
data
Research &
evaluationManaging
information
IT collaboration
Structured
documents
―
Students learn from thinking….thinking is engaged by
activity.
Students learn from thinking….thinking is engaged by
activity.
―Jonassen, 2003
―
InteractionInteraction
Pervasive learning
• Access to information, communication and computing is not limited by physical space
• Activities are distributed across space and time
• Information is virtually connected to locations
• Create multi-purpose ‘habitats’
• Augmented reality, smart objects, intelligent contexts
• Virtual environments
―Dede, 2004―Dede, 2004
Augmented reality
• Combines physical world and virtual world contexts
• Embeds learners in authentic situations
• Engages users in a socially facilitated context
Computer simulation on handheld computer triggered by real world location
―Klopfer & Squire, 2003
Results
• Augmented reality: engaging and easy
• Cooperation and competition in game play
• Gender patterns appear (males are number driven; females are interpersonally driven)
―Klopfer & Squire, 2003
Learning and environment interplay
• Every student learns all the time―Learning occurs inside and outside of class ―Every setting can be a learning environment
• Direct experience shapes individual understanding―The brain’s activity is in direct proportion to its
engagement with stimulating environments―Concrete experiences solidify one’s understanding
of abstract concepts
• Individuals learn by establishing and reworking patterns, relationships and connections
• Change in environment is stimulating
—Crawley, 2004
―
Planning for the futurePlanning for the future
Step #1: What has changed?
• Do students have different learning preferences?
• Do we systematically apply what is known about learning?
• What does it take to be competent?
• Do we know what students need to succeed?
• Are we as competitive as we want, or need, to be?
Step #2: What are the options?
• What new options for teaching and learning are available?―Hybrid courses―Online labs―Simulations/games―Collaboration
• Can we make learning options more flexible?
• Can we alter the type of educational resources we use? What is the role of textbooks? Simulations? Games?
• Can we reconfigure space to provide more collaborative and group opportunities?
Step #3: What is our strategy?
• Innovation
• Quality service
• Personalized care
• Efficient, low-cost
• No choice
Step #4: How good is the fit?
Strategic Alignment
Is this initiative aligned with our long-term organizational goals?
Culture How will this fit with our institutional culture?
ArchitectureDoes the initiative adhere to the overall IT architecture?
OutcomesWhat kind of results do we expect from the initiative?
Risk Assessment
What is the risk of doing this? What is the risk of doing nothing? What can be done to reduce risk?
―
The future belongs to societies that organize themselves for learning
– Marshall & Tucker, 2003
