The Next Generation Learner Diana G. Oblinger, Ph.D. Copyright Diana Oblinger, 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. ―Hamel & Valiksngas, 2003

Kids

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 Playoutside Usecomputer Reading – 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% 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 Learn more/better Community Show others what 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 ed 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, 2003

College 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

Media literacy 10,000 hours video games 200,000 s 20,000 hours TV 10,000 hours cell phone Under 5,000 hours reading By age 21, the average person will have spent – Prensky, s Video Games Reading Television Cell Phone

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

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 Qualities Concerns ―Prensky, 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 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, Co-enrolled Transferred Attended more than 1 institution

Generational 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

Product of the environment Video games Computers GenerationXGenerationX The Web Mobile devices IM Net Gen BabyBoomersBabyBoomers TV generation Typewriters Memos

Attitudes TV Generation PC Generation Net Generation WebWhat is it?Web is a toolWeb is oxygen CommunityPersonal Extended personal Virtual PerspectiveLocalMulti-nationalGlobal CareerOne career Multiple careers Multiple reinvention LoyaltyCorporationSelfSoul AuthorityHierarchyUnimpressedSelf as expert ―Savage, 2003

Age vs. online preferences 63% 55% 38% 26% (N = 27) (N = 324)(N = 814) (N = 344) ―Dzuiban, 2004 Students who were very satisfied with Web-based learning by generation

Student in-class preferences ―Kvavik, Limited IT Moderate IT No IT Extensive IT Online Percentage

Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach. ―Prensky, 2001

First-person learning

Engaging learning experiences Lecture Q&A Facilitated discussion Case study Debate Problem solving Game Real project Voting PassiveActive Emotionally engaging

Interaction Concept inventories Student response units Immediate results keep students engaged Allows real-time modification of instruction 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 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:

Digital archives

Simulations

Online laboratories

--del Alamo, 2003

WebLab capacity 2PM: exercise out (75 students) 4PM: 6.720J/3.43J exercise out (25 students) 2PM: exercise due 4PM: 6.720J/3.43J exercise due [Oct , 2000] System capacity: > 2,000 users/week, > 15,000 jobs/week --del Alamo, 2003

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 & evaluation Managing information IT collaboration Structured documents

Students learn from thinking….thinking is engaged by activity. ―Jonassen, 2003

Interaction

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

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

Environmental detectives 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

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

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 --Beichner & Saul, 2003

Student room usage – Long, am-5pm 5-11pm 11pm-9am percentage

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 future

Agility and change Agility is the ability to sense and respond to change Act: Are you able to follow through efficiently? Strategize: Are you able to effectively plan to respond to the change? Decide: Can you commit to the plan? Sense: Are you aware of significant changes in your environment? Communicate: Are you able to get the word out to everyone who needs to know?

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? CultureHow will this fit with our institutional culture? Architecture Does the initiative adhere to the overall IT architecture? Outcomes What 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?

Step #5: What is the role of IT? Informational Strategic Transactional Infrastructure Better information Better integration Better information Better integration Innovation Competitive necessity Innovation Competitive necessity Reduce costs Increase throughput Reduce costs Increase throughput Standardization Core capability Standardization Core capability ―Sloan Center for Information Systems Research, 2002

The future belongs to societies that organize themselves for learning – Marshall & Tucker, 2003

© 2004 All rights reserved.