The ne(x)t generation students: needs and expectations Online Educa Berlin, December 5 th 2008 Ineke Lam Utrecht University IVLOS – Institute of Education Centre for ICT in Education

2/18 Content  Introduction –New generation students expected –EU-project - eLene-TLC  Research –Design –Outcomes of the student interviews in six countries –Outcomes of the teacher interviews in six countries –Conclusions  Discussion

3/18 Introduction – the net-generation  Generation of students that comes to the university is changing according to the literature net-generation, millennials, Google generation, digital natives, homo zappiens  They are in an ICT-default mode and learn in a different way Characteristics: –Fast and impatient –Learning by doing –Result-oriented –Social and interactive –Multi-tasking –Visually oriented –Connected and mobile

4/18 eLene TLC - EU eLearning programme  eLene-TLC project Topic: preparing universities for the ne(x)t generation of students  WP – students: research questions: –Do the characteristics of current 1 st year students at the universities match the characteristics as presented in the literature? –What do 1 st year students in higher education need and expect from ICT in their learning process? –What are the implications for the future teaching and learning processes within universities?

5/18 Research  Design Student and teacher interviews in six countries (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain (Cataluña), Sweden  Research method –Group interviews with 1 st year students in HE with semi- structured interview list 3 per country, max 5 students per interview –Individual semi structured interviews with HE teachers 5 per country

6/18 Instrument – semi structured interview  Students (group interviews) –ICT use in personal life (at home) –Previous ICT use in educational setting –ICT use at university (inc not use) –Important characteristics of ICT –Statements  Teachers (individual interviews) –ICT use in personal life (own, students) –ICT use at university (own, students) – inc not use –Statements

7/18 Results  Students –Different selection methods used –Difficult to find students willing to participate –Changing instrument (Ge+Sp) –N=96  Teachers –Different selection methods used –Different instrument (Ge+Sp) –N=30  Remark Results are interpreted as indications rather than facts

8/18 Results student interviews  ICT use in personal life – , chat, mobile, internet (info, amusement, applications) –Mobile, and MSN most important  Previous ICT use in educational setting –Lack of computers –Used for presentations, internet-info  ICT use at university –ICT use for communication/interaction with teachers and peers –ICT should be up-to-date, eg Wifi on campus –VLE –Lectures on the web –Centralisation of information –Not to be used: all can be used but in proper way – some mention mobiles, games, chat

9/18 Student interviews: important characteristics (most important = 1) CharacteristicsFRGEITNLSPSW Speed Quality info Design Ease of use Interactive Up-to-date

10/18 Student interviews: important characteristics (most important = 1) CharacteristicsFRGEITNLSPSW Speed Quality info Design Ease of use Interactive Up-to-date

11/18 Student interviews: statements (totally agree= 5) StatementsFRGEITNLSPSW Fast + impatient3,43,33,23,02,53,3 Learning by doing0,72,82,72,81,72,8 Result oriented2,73,44,44,13,63,3 Social + interactive4,43,54,64,34,04,1 Simultaneous activities4,03,73,14,13,74,4 Visually3,22,22,02,93,22,8 Connected + mobile4,13,82,54,32,43,6

12/18 Results teacher interviews  ICT use in personal life –Themselves: , internet –Students: mobile (except for FR: + web)  ICT use at university –General: , internet, VLE/LMS (SW more advanced) –Additional: wiki, blogs, e-portfolio’s (teachers) –Additional: simulations, online exams, quizzes (GE + SW)  Not be used at university –Not exclude beforehand: choose the right tool for the right task

13/18 Teacher interviews: statements (totally agree= 5) StatementsFRGEITNLSPSW Fast + impatient3,42,93,43,53,62,7 Learning by doing3,433,53,42,83,4 Result oriented4,23,54,3443,4 Social + interactive3,43,73,94,33,7 Simultaneous activities3,33,53,84,23,63,8 Visually3,4 3,233,9 Connected + mobile3,53,443,7 3,5

14/18 Conclusions (1)  Do the characteristics of current 1 st year students at the universities match the characteristics as presented in the literature?  Only indications for: –Being social and interactive (strongest) –Lesser extent:Result-oriented Connected & Mobile Multi-tasking –No:Learning by doing Visually oriented

15/18 Conclusions (2)  What do 1 st year students in higher education need and expect from ICT in their learning process? –Quality of information is important –Use of ICT for social and interactive purposes –ICT tools to communicate and interact with teachers and peers –Centralisation of information –ICT should be up to date, eg Wifi on the campus –Weblectures (as a service) –VLE

16/18 Conclusions (3)  What are the implications for the future teaching and learning processes within universities? What fits the ne(x)t generation? Pedagogy –Collaborative learning –Peer feedback / assessment ICT-tools –Tools that support collaborative learning, teamwork, interaction.Discussion board, wiki, blog –Peer feedback / assessment tools

17/18 More info?  To find out more about eLene-TLC  Ineke Lam

18/18 Discussion Any questions?