Profiling the GenNexters - Looking Beyond 2007 Lesley Blicker Director of IMS Learning and Next Generation Technology Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

A Profile of the GenNexters 1.The generation born between 1982 and Also known as the Millenials, Echo boomers,the Net Generation, and the Digital Natives 3.Very comfortable with technological learning tools including online learning and courseware, presentation software, Web page design, spreadsheet software 4.Are education-oriented Source: “Identifying the Generation Gap in Higher Education: Where do Differences Really Lie?” Paula Garcia and Jingjing Qin. Innovate Journal of Online Education, April/May

A Profile of the GenNexters- cont’d 5.Are more assertive information seekers 6.Have no tolerance for delays 7.The Internet is better than TVTV 8.Doing is more important than knowing 9.Multi-tasking is a way of life 10.Typing is preferred to handwriting 11.Staying connected is essential Source: “Teaching and Learning with the Net Generation,” Barnes, Marateo, and Ferris. Innovate Journal of Online Education, April/May Also “Boomers, Gen-Xers, and Millenials: Understanding the New Students,” D. Oblinger, Educause July/August 2003.

is what our parents do

Are Their Attention Spans Really Short? Yes…for the old ways of learning But NOT for games or for anything else that interests them They crave interactivity—an immediate response to their each and every action Traditional education provides very little of this compared to the rest of their world Adapted from Marc Prensky, 2001.

Forest Park High School Digital Video Media Segment – The Millenials at School Digital Natives Source: Marc Prensky, “Every time I go to school I have to power down,” complains a high-school student.

Media Exposure Spent 10,000 hours on video games Read 200,000 s Watched 20,000 hours TV Spent 10,000 hours on the cell phone Spent under 5,000 hours reading By age 21, the average person will have: – Marc Prensky, s Video Games Reading Television Cell Phone

Which Technologies are our Current Learners Using?

Portable Devices, IMs, and Game Controllers

Learning Technologies: Course Management Systems

Add-On Learning Tools

Social Technologies Digital connectedness is prized above all else.

Immersive Learning Environments (ILEs): 3D Virtual Worlds (Games/Sims)

Why ILEs? Why Simulations?

Known Benefits Involve practice and immediate feedback No memorization of facts, just mobilization of information to solve problems Lectures can be placed “point-in-time” Learning is paced, less complex objectives at beginning, incremetal rewards, increasing complexity as proceeds 1 st person learning experience; learners manipulate their world and gather information along the way

Personal Learning Landscape Source: “The Future CMS,” by Scott Leslie. Edutools, November,

Nascent Technology 2-4 years Next Gen Technology 5-10 years  Social learning architectures – immersive 3D metaverses (Second Life, Croquet Consortium, and MySpace users convert to 3B)  Open Source as an enterprise system; Open Courseware (i.e., Moodle)  New applications for wireless technology  More digital device software  Real-time swapping of video and audio  Cell phone technologies (IM)  Technologies allowing users to build, tinker, learn, and share  Remixes and mashups for educational purposes  Morphs/expansion of “Notice me” self-publishing tools, public displays of identity (e.g., MySpace)  Extensions of digital social networks  Electronic textbooks, unbundled chapters  Digital libraries  3D portals, full service online institutions Current Technology 1+ years*  Plagiarism or citation management software  Video-over-IP, such as Video Furnace  Podcasting/Vodcasting (YouTube  Wikis and blogs (MySpace)  Gaming and simulations  Content authoring tools, such as lodeStar, Raptivity  Web conferencing tools (e.g., WebEx, Elluminate)  Autodesk (CAD 3D for mfg)  Learning Objects/Repositories * Length of time to maturity/mainstream adoption/saturation

1.Fusion of mobile, IM and Web 2.3D engine product ubiquity (Second Life, Croquet, Active Worlds). Groundswell of ILEs and virtual campuses occurring 3.Open standards approach to tool interoperability and integration (future IMSs could have 100s of add-ons) Other Future Learning Technology Trends Other Future Learning Technology Trends

7.Content-sharing beyond the bounds of one organization 8.Cont’d blurring between content creator and consumer 9. Rapid expansion of Web 2.0 tools Future Learning Technology Trends Future Learning Technology Trends

1.Integration of learning technologies into strategic plans and institutional priorities, similar to current integration of facility planning, admin processes, library and student services 2.Getting a handle on what to focus on 3.Investing in technologically competent faculty 4.Figuring out how/whether/when to support entrepreneurial efforts Strategic Technological Challenges Strategic Technological Challenges

For copies or more information on the GenNexters and Next Generation Learning Technologies, please contact: Lesley Blicker Director of IMS Learning and Next Generation Technology Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Work: Cell: