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Innovate - April/May 2007 Volume 3, Issue 4

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Over the last twenty years, a new generation of students has started to appear, first in our K-12 schools and more recently in our colleges and universities. Known as the Net Generation, this is a generation that has grown up with video games, computers, and the Internet. The expectations, attitudes, and technological fluency of this new generation present both a challenge and an opportunity for educators. In this special issue of Innovate, we examine how educators and educational systems can respond to the challenge and leverage the opportunity.

Kassandra Barnes, Raymond Marateo, and S. Pixy Ferris provide an introduction to the topic with an overview describing the learning styles and preferences of Net Generation learners. Net Generation learners are information seekers, comfortable using technology to seek out information, frequently multitasking and using multiple forms of media simultaneously. As a result, they desire independence and autonomy in their learning processes.

The technology that shapes these students' lives can seem dangerous to adults. Mark van 't Hooft explores the issue related to online social networking and online communication tools by teenagers. While the first reaction of many parents and schools is to limit access to these tools to protect children, dialogue between adults and children can benefit both groups. Children can show adults the use and benefits of the technology while adults can encourage children’s understanding of responsible use of technology.

Because many higher education classrooms are composed of a mix of students from multiple generations, understanding the needs of all generations is the key to effective teaching and learning, especially when using technology to support learning. To meet this need, Paula Garcia and Jingjing Qin present a research project that analyzes the differences and similarities between traditional and nontraditional students in regards to comfort with technology and attitudes about learning.

To understand the consequences of Web 2.0, Dana J. Wilber discusses her ethnographic study of a Net Generation college student. This case illustrates some of the ways that online journals and social networking sites are used by students and provides a window for faculty to consider how these tools can be used to support learning.

Of course, technology continues to evolve in ways that shape education. John Thompson describes the transition from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and addresses how this change affects both learning and teaching. Where Web 1.0 provided access to massive volumes of information, Web 2.0 provides users with the ability to become producers as well as consumers of this information. This technological transition puts pressure on education to become more interactive and to enable learners to be producers as well as consumers.

The impact of the Net Generation reaches beyond the classroom. Holly Peterson discusses how to engage alumni from this generation by using a case study of one organization’s effort to establish an online alumni community. This experience can guide anyone attempting to create an online community; the lessons learned may apply to attempts to reach current students as well as alumni.

Finally, in his Places to Go feature, Stephen Downes discusses Google as the site that most reflects the spirit and characteristics of the Net Generation. Using the Google search results for "Net Generation," Downes reflects on how the Net Generation accesses, creates, and uses information. Just as Google represents a dramatic change in the management of information as compared to traditional forms of media, the Net Generation represents a changing approach to media.