1. Teenage Life Online: The Rise of the Networked Generation Lee Rainie – Director Youth.Net Conference - Singapore August 12, 2003

2. “Oh, like you know something the Internet doesn’t know.”

3. Who I am… … what we do
Funded by Pew Charitable Trusts – a major U.S. foundation / charity
Asked to create empirical research to help policy makers
Areas of study:
Family life - Health care
Community - Civic and political life
Education - Work places
Will be talking about our research in the United States and drawing on other research in Asia and Europe in this relatively new field.
Emphasis will be on the Internet (not so much wireless or cell phones).

4. Prediction 1 the motion picture is
“I believe that the Internet is destined to revolutionize our educational system and that in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks.”
Some historical perspective on the excitement about how the Internet is revolutionizing education.
-- Thomas Edison, 1922

5. Prediction 2
“The central and dominant aim of education online is to bring the world to the classroom, to make universally available the services of the finest teachers, the inspiration of the greatest leaders, … and unfolding world events which through the Internet may come as a vibrant and challenging textbook of bits traveling over wires.”
by radio is
radio
Perspective on the glowing picture I’m about to paint about how the Internet helps people make decisions, especially education decisions.
There are limits to the power of the Net – only 5% of Internet users have taken a college course online. Colleges and other traditional modes of learning are not endangered yet.
of the air.”
-- Benjamin Darrow, 1932 textbook
called “Radio: The assistant teacher”

6. Prediction 3
“There won’t be schools in the future…. I think the Internet will blow up the school. That is, the school as something where there are classes, teachers running exams, people structured in groups by age, [who] follow a curriculum – all of that.”
think the computer
Boundary between home and work has broken down.
-- Seymour Papert, technology
expert, 1984

7. Adult population is stagnant / churning
Teen population grows / use ebbs and flows
Teens
122 million American adults and 35 million children go online
64 million-70 million online on any given day
There is great churn in the internet population
General use pattern tracks with experience – more leads to more use
Teens is sloping off, but still growing – use patterns vary by age, by the age when someone started – use varies with age and tapers off with experience – becomes more functional
Most powerful predictor of Internet use is student status -- close to 90% of college students
Adults

8. What teenagers do online – 1
Surf for fun
Play games
Rock stars
Instant message
Pictures
Research products
Health info
Pursue hobbies
News
Listen to music
TV stars
Chat rooms
Download music
Calendar
Sports news
My team’s sites
Auction/trading
Arrow one – rock stars
Arrow two – send/receive pictures
Arrow three -- TV stars
Arrow four – Online calendar/schedule keeper
Buy products
My own site
Sensitive topics

9. What teenagers do online - 2
Homework
Major research projects
Access class Web sites
/ IM teachers
Download study aids
Create class Web page

10. What teens do more than adults
Adults do the more serious things – and they do at the same level of intensity of students

11. What teens talk about most with friends
Teenage Research Unlimited

12. Source: Peter Grunwald & Associates
The importance of the Internet in children’s lives is illustrated by this comparison with their other favorite leisure activity – watching TV.
Source: Peter Grunwald & Associates
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Survey, January 2003

13. Now and in the future Educational implications Social implications
Formal
Informal
Social implications
Privacy and identity
Secret information
Friendships and associations
Family life
Is a new teen culture emerging in this environment? Yes and no. In some respects use of new technologies is allowing teenagers to do more of the things that teenagers have always enjoyed doing. It enhances and expands the teenage experience and teenage interests. I will argue that this might eventually change the way that people act in groups and in families.

14. The Industrial Age education model
the clueless,
teacher-dependent
pupil
Let’s start with education. You’ll see that the burden of our findings is that the basic educational model that has existed for more than a century is shifting thanks in large measure to the Internet.
One of the established memes if Industrial Age education is the pupil…
Definitions (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
A person, usually young, who is learning under the close supervision of a teacher at school
Comes from a Middle English base word that means “orphan” or “ward”
Much of the argument and concern about the credibility of information is built around that industrial-era model of education, where experts with careful pedagogies support the teacher-as-authority view of how learning should take place.

15. The Information Age education model
the net-savvy,
well-connected,
teacher-independent
end-user
In this environment, the teacher becomes less of an “expert” lecturing about facts than a coach who teaches the basic process of learning.
There is not very clear evidence yet that this change is occurring or that it is having an impact.
Bulk of research conducted at ES level on older technologies – technologies you might not even be able to buy today
Quality of research raised concerns – lacking comparison groups, small sample sizes, limited use of technology, no use of standardized assessments
Few longitudinal studies or studies of whole-grade, whole-school, or whole district level innovations
Nonetheless, ¾ studies showed positive impact of using technology overall, with a significant proportion of those studies of technologies used to teach higher order skills showing positive effects

16. Students’ Internet metaphors
The Internet as virtual textbook and reference library
The Internet as virtual tutor and study shortcut
The Internet as virtual study group
The Internet as virtual guidance counselor
The Internet as virtual locker, backpack and notebook
Start with the educational world – One major impact of the Internet is on the educational lives of children – not so much inside the classroom as outside.
·        The Internet as virtual textbook and reference library. Much like a school-issued textbook or a traditional library, students think of the Internet as the place to find primary and secondary source material for their reports, presentations, and projects. This is perhaps the most commonly used metaphor of the Internet for school—held by both students and many of their teachers alike.
 ·        The Internet as virtual tutor and study shortcut. Students think of the Internet as one way to receive instruction about material that interests them or about which they are confused. Others view the Internet as a way to complete their schoolwork as quickly and painlessly as possible, with minimal effort and minimal engagement. For some, this includes viewing the Internet as a mechanism to plagiarize material or otherwise cheat.
 ·        The Internet as virtual study group. Students think of the Internet as an important way to collaborate on project work with classmates, study for tests and quizzes, and trade class notes and observations.
 ·        The Internet as virtual guidance counselor. Students look to the Internet for guidance about life decisions as they relate to school, careers, and postsecondary education.
 ·        The Internet as virtual locker, backpack, and notebook. Students think of the Internet as a place to store their important school-related materials and as a way to transport their books and papers from place to place. Online tools allow them to keep track of their class schedule, syllabi, assignments, notes, and papers.

17. Student laments Assignments don’t take advantage of the Internet
Classroom work hardly ever exploits the Internet
The hindrances students see:
Fear about “digital divide”
Fear about the “dark side” of the Internet
Techno-wariness
Low level of support from school administrators
·        Students want better coordination of their out-of-school educational use of the Internet with classroom activities. They argue that this could be the key to leveraging the power of the Internet for learning.
 ·        Students urge schools to increase significantly the quality of access to the Internet in schools.
 ·        Students believe that professional development and technical assistance for teachers are crucial for effective integration of the Internet into curricula.
 ·        Students maintain that schools should place priority on developing programs to teach keyboarding, computer, and Internet literacy skills.
 ·        Students urge that there should be continued effort to ensure that high-quality online information to complete school assignments be freely available, easily accessible, and age-appropriate–without undue limitation on students’ freedoms.
 ·        Students insist that policy makers take the “digital divide” seriously and that they begin to understand the more subtle inequities among teenagers that manifest themselves in differences in the quality of student Internet access and use.
Even inside the most well connected schools, there is wide variation in teacher policies about Internet use by students in and for class.
The not-so-engaging uses are the more typical of their assignments.

18. Underlying world view, Information Age education
my search
engine
my favorite
research sites
my teachers and tutors
my classmates
NET-SAVVY
STUDENT
my online
study aids
my reference
materials and texts
The National Academy of Science report on the new science of learning, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, finds that new and emerging technologies have the potential to enhance learning and the development of new knowledge in many exciting ways.
Identified 4 ways in which technology can advance learning:
technologies can help students visualize difficult-to-understand concepts, such as differentiating heat from temperature. Visualization and modeling software similar to the tools used in the workplace increase students’ conceptual understanding.
Since new technologies are interactive, it is now easier to create environments in which students can engage in learning, receive feedback, and continually refine their understanding.
New technologies provide access to a vast array of information, including digital libraries, real-world data for analysis, and connections to other people who provide information, feedback and inspiration—all of which can enhance the learning of teachers and administrators as well as students.
Finally, new and emerging technologies also offer opportunities to individualize instruction and assessment in promising ways for all students, including especially those students at the greatest risk for school failure.
my online
tutors
my personal
network
qualityware
& communityware

19. Digital age shifts in learning
literacy
literacy
literacy
TEXT TEXT+IMAGE
BEING TOLD
(authority based)
DEDUCTIVE
(linear)
DON’T KNOW
WON’T TRY
INFORMATION RICH
NAVIGATION MEDIA
DISCOVERY, EXPERIENTIAL
BRICOLAGE + JUDGMENT
(lateral)
DON’T KNOW – LINK, LURK & TRY
learning
reasoning
Bricolage – a concept having to do with someone’s ability to find something (a tool, a piece of content – text or image) that can be used to build something new.
action
John Seely Brown, Social Life of Information

20. Privacy and identity
Teenagers want to set themselves apart from their parents – this is the age of emancipation
They use technologies to be with people and do things that they would like their parents not to see
They also like to experiment with their identities
Take advantage of anonymity of online world
Video game characters
Customize their “tech toys”
*******
Turning to the social world.
Screennames as new indicators of social acceptance. Buddy lists as indicators of how large a person’s social network is – how many friends they have.

21. Splitting the self One Two Three Four + All teens 44% 25% 10% 21% Boys
How many addresses or screen names do online teens use?
One
Two
Three
Four +
All teens
44%
25%
10%
21%
Boys
39%
26%
11%
24%
Girls
50%
23% 9%
19%
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Teens and Parents Survey, Nov.-Dec Margin of error is ±4%.

22. Access to ‘secret information’
Teenagers use the Internet to find secrets and learn sensitive information
Health information
Sexual information
Tips on how to handle difficult social situations (bullies, etc.)
Insights on how to be attractive to romantic partners
Subjects that are forbidden in their homes
Turning to the social world.

23. Friendships and associations
Use communication tools to stay in constant touch with their friends
A new intimacy and “presence” – “ultra-connectedness”
New levels of spontaneity
“Smart mobs”
New arrangements for etiquette and norms
New tools to expand their social networks
The possibility of more “weak” ties

24. New life at home Family accommodation to the new technologies
Where is the computer?
Who can go online when and for how long?
Is it being used for “good” or “bad” reasons?
Teens as tech support – family learners
A one-time generational event

25. Implications -- Blurred boundaries
Private / public
Home / work / school
Identity – male/female, young/old, passive/aggressive, playful/vengeful
Producer / consumer
Entertainment / information
Single tasks / multitasks
Right / wrong
Education / leisure

26. A new challenge – more stress
Higher levels of intrusion in personal life
“Always on the job”
“Always available”
New surveillance possibilities – loss of privacy

27. What today’s youth can do for us all
Develop new sense of community – especially by using online groups
Help “sort out” the Web – find information, allow interactions
Help define and teach media and technology literacy
Help create new social norms – define how it is proper to behave with new information technologies
Help elders adapt to new technologies and the coming era of ubiquitous computing (cars, homes, clothes, wallets, appliances)

28. -- Mary O’Hara Devereaux Institute for the Future
Prediction 4
“People tend to overestimate the impact of new technologies in the short run and underestimate their long-term impacts.”
-- Mary O’Hara Devereaux Institute for the Future

29. Contact me Lee Rainie Lrainie@pewinternet. org http://www. pewinternet