Digital kids
Next week we are having a meeting of the seven projects who are involved in the JISC’s Learner Experience Phase Two programme. A key questions underlying alot of the research around students’ use of technologies is ‘to what extent is the hype about digital natives, the net generation etc. true?’. I think the evidence is mounting… I think there is an emerging consensus from, for example, the studies by Diana Oblinger (Educating the net generation is well worth reading) and others through Educause (see also the recent ECAR survey), the work that David Kennedy and others are doing in Australia. And today I came across this posting about a recent keynote by Michael Furdyk:
Here we had (at last!) a clear articulation of the new expectations that are driving the learning characteristics of our students: multiprocessing; multimedia literacy; discovery-based learning; bias towards action; staying connected; zero tolerance for delays; consumer/creator blurring; social networking.
It will be great to catch up with the other projects involved in the JISC work and compare notes on our own findings in relation to this. The follow on BIG question is ‘So if these are the learning characteristics of modern learners, what does it mean in terms of how we design courses, to ensure that we take account of this and provide an engaging and innovative experience for our students?