What Does the Net Generation Expect From Us

What Does the Net Generation Expect From Us? SAC August 8, 2005 Copyright © 2005, Joel L. Hartman. 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 or otherwise to republish requires written permission from the author.

www. educause. edu/educatingthenetgen 2

EDUCAUSE E-book First e-book project html, pdf, print Connects to EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative key themes www. educause. edu/educatingthenetgen 3

The Generations Matures (b. <1946) Baby Boomers (b. 1947 -1964) Gen-Xers (b. 1965 -1980) Millennials (Net Gen) (b. 1981 -1994) Post-Millennials (b. 1995 -? ) 4

Differences: More Than Age Social Economic Environmental Political Technological 5

Entertainment Matures Boomers Gen X Net Gen (pre-1946) (1946 – 1964) (1965 – 1980) (1981 – 1994) Ozzie & Harriet Grateful Dead Sesame Street Beavis & Butthead Father Knows Best Rock & Roll Friends Computer Games Bing Crosby 3’s Company Heavy Metal Napster, etc. The Movies Mad Magazine Netflix Marvel Comics 6

Social Markers Matures Boomers Gen X Net Gen (pre-1946) (1946 – 1964) (1965 – 1980) (1981 – 1994) WW II JFK Assassination Watergate Oklahoma Bombing Korean Conflict Civil Rights Movement Social Chaos 9/11 New Deal Economic Expansion Vietnam Terrorism Great Depression Move to Suburbia AIDS Diversity Rural Life Nuclear Families Downsizing Economic Expansion Extended Families Fallout Shelters Divorced Families Online Communities Respect Authority Buy Now—Pay Later Latchkey Kids Earn to Spend Duty Before Pleasure Personal Fulfillment Work to Live 7

Technology is Anything Invented After You Were Born Matures Boomers Gen X Net Gen (pre-1946) (1946 – 1964) (1965 – 1980) (1981 – 1994) Golden Age of Radio TV Video Games The Web 78 RPM Records FM Stereo Lunar Landing Space Shuttle Operators-Party Lines Mainframes ARPANET Internet ENIAC PLATO UNIX MP 3 BASIC/DTSS E-mail DVD LP Records Ethernet Windows/Macintosh Apple/Microsoft Mobile Devices CDs IM, Blogs 8

What Do the Net Gen Consider Technology? To me, technology is… “…an effective tool to present quality presentations, and develop great communication with other students and professionals in the same field. ” ~ Sandra Basanti, Marymount University 9

The Net Gen Speak “…reformatting my computer system and installing cutting edge software that allows me to do what I want, when I want, without restrictions, viruses, and rules of Bill Gates. ” ~Jody Butler, Idaho State University “…ability to adapt and configure and already established program to benefits me daily, be it, customizing weather bug to state the weather in my particular region, or formatting my cell phone pad to recognize commonly used phrases in text messaging. ” ~ Christopher Bourges, Duke University 10

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Today’s students are “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet They process information and act differently than previous generations Digital immigrants have had to adapt; their “accents” are discernable 11 – Prensky, 2001

By Age 21, The Average Person Will Have Spent… 20, 000 hours watching TV 10, 000 hours on a cell phone Under 5, 000 hours reading Sent/received 200, 000 E-mails 10, 000 hours playing video games 12 – Prensky, 2003

College Internet Use 60% believe the Internet has improved relationships with classmates 56% believe the Internet has improved relationship with professors 46% say Internet allows them to express ideas that they would not have expressed in class 13 – Jones, 2002

College Internet Use 79% say Internet has had a positive impact on academic experience 73% use the Internet more than the library for research 72% check E-mail every day 14 – Jones, 2002

Pre-College Internet Use 87% of teens 12 -17 use the Internet; 51% go online daily 81% play online games 76% get news online 43% make purchases online 75% use IM; 48% do so daily 15 – Lenhart, 2005

Pre-College Internet Use E-mail: something you use to talk to “old people” IM: something you use to talk with friends Nearly half of teens have cell phones, and a third are texting Landline phone used most often 16 – Lenhart, 2005

Games 69% have of students have played games since elementary school 77% of students have played games by high school 100% have experienced games by college 17 --Jones, 2003

Games 60% of college students are regular game players 29 is the average of a game player $9. 9 billion computer and video game sales in 2004 18 --Jones, 2003

Rising Expectations Rising expectations of technology-literate students difficult to meet Service expectations Amazon. com, Ebay, and Google are their models ― Immediacy, self-service, customization ― Students want engaging learning experiences Satisfaction levels decreasing 19

General Characteristics of The Net Generation Always Connected Multi-Tasking Resourceful Inquisitive Customize Independent and Interdependent 20

Students Who Were Very Satisfied by Generation 55% Percent 38% 26% Boomer 1946 -1964 n=328 Generation-X 1965 -1980 n=815 21 Millennial 1981 -1994 n=346 --Dziuban, 2005

Better Able to Integrate Technology Into Their Learning 67% Percent 48% 34% Boomer 1946 -1964 n=328 Generation-X 1965 -1980 n=815 22 Millennial 1981 -1994 n=346 --Dziuban, 2005

College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) English Scores 953 782 548 n=1, 268 n=8, 861 23 n=6, 164 --Dziuban, 2005

College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) Math Scores 928 721 505 n=1, 266 n=8, 860 24 n=6, 163 --Dziuban, 2005

Net Gen Attitudes and Behavior Play Out in Multiple Campus Settings: ACADEMIC SERVICES SOCIAL 25

Academic PDAs, phones, laptops in the classroom Expectations of faculty and what constitutes good teaching (see: ratemyprofessor. com) Smart classrooms, flexible learning spaces Library Intellectual property; ethics 26

Learning Expectations of the Net Generation “Good Teaching is Universal” l Characteristics l Engage l Ability of Good Teaching students in subject matter to communicate effectively l Participatory learning (integrating secondary sources to foster a better understanding) l Fair treatment of students 27

The Net Gen Speak “To me, a good teacher is someone who is an expert in their field/industry, and is able to convey and apply their expertise in the classroom. “ ~ Heena Shabbir, American University “A good teacher has an innate knowledge of their field, and can effectively convey this knowledge in more than one way, which keeps the class interesting. ” ~ Frank Fellecetti III, SUNY Oswego “I love when I come back from a class, where my professors knowledge of a particular field is astonishing. ” ~ Samuel Bass- Southwest Missouri State 28

The Net Gen Speak “Yes, Power. Point is good and all, but I hate when teachers overuse a software package, like Power. Point and think they have used technology to enhance a particular topic. Overusing anything is not useful to me in a classroom environment!” ~Warren Ng- University of Colorado “What is the point of placing an entire course curriculum on Power. Point slides, and then making those slides available on the internet, and then. . require students to come to class, and listen to the teacher only read through Power. Point slides that we already have read through, remember they were available online? ” ~ Nicole Galinat- Stetson University 29

Net Gen Classroom Learning Expectations Enjoy courses where the professor has an equal amount of traditional lecturing, as well as interactive learning l Interactive learning may be defined as a group project, or working as a team for a particular in -class assignment, watching video clips, using Power. Point, or accessing course material via the internet. 30

Services Stovepipe service units Bureaucratic run-around Expectation that everything is online Google and e. Bay set their standards 31

Net Gen Service Expectations Other public sites, such as Amazon, Google, Yahoo, and MSN serve as a frame of reference to compare an institution’s technology services, such as: l l l E-mail Internet ports in each dorm room Basic wireless services available in public halls (dining, student union, academic buildings) Discounted software packages (Windows XP, Microsoft Office) Sufficient bandwidth to send large documents back and forth seamlessly Help Desk to help trouble shoot when problems occur 32

Why Do the Net Gen Expect This? Many institutions incorporate a technology cost into their fees each year, the expectation is whether the services that the Net Gen are exclusively used or not, so long as they have these recommended services as a resource the basic expectation is being met. 33

Social The social element is integrated with all the rest Like “schools of fish” Thefacebook, friendster 34

Net Gens and Social Life Defining Characteristic of the Net Generation is the constant need to be connected Internet services (AIM, thefacebook, etc. ) help us stay connected l Multi-tasking allows Net Geners communicate with numerous friends, when trying to plan an event l 35

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

Increasing Gap Between the tools and resources we are deploying and those selected and used by Net Gen students Between us and them in regard to the way these tools and resources are used 37

What Can We Do About This? Talk with and observe our students Read about the “generations effect” Develop contexts for Net Gen students to integrate their tools of choice into our education, research, and services environments 38

The Freshman Mindset Paul Newman has always made salad dressing Bert and Ernie are old enough to be their parents Gas has always been unleaded Oliver North has always been a talk show host 39 --Beloit College, 2003 & 2004

Discussion Session 1: 00 – 2: 30 p. m. 40

Contact Information Joel L. Hartman Vice Provost for Information Technologies & Resources University of Central Florida joel@mail. ucf. edu Gregory R. Roberts SI International gregory. r. roberts@gmail. com 41

Copyright © 2005, Joel L. Hartman. 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 or otherwise to republish requires written permission from the author. 42