20th century educators and 21st century learners

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20 th Century Educators and 21 st Century Learners: The need for change in education. Fiona Grindey, Introduction to Digital Environments for learning, February 2011 Introduction For some time now there has been much debate over the next generation of learners, especially those entering Higher Education and whether or not the Universities are providing today’s student body with the necessary skills that needed in order to benefit the workplace into which they will enter. A decade ago, Prensky (2001) coined the term ‘Digital Native’. This term has been used widely within the media, causing an array of conclusions about the future of education and the abilities of a generation of ‘technology savvy’ learners. The essay has been divided into sections on the digital native debate with a discussion on how it is necessary to develop a new model of delivery to meet the needs of a different style of working. This then leads to the recognition of the importance to teach new skills in examining their use of technology and how the broad term of digital literacy has come to define a new skill set essential to the success of these learners. It will also detail the challenges and issues faced by the educators and institutions of these increasingly 'media savvy' groups of learners and consider what the implications are to Higher Education. It concludes that although we are in times of austerity we are also in a time of change and students would be failed if Universities do not adapt to meet the needs of the society that they should be serving. Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants Ian Dukes – Understanding the Digital Generation The idea that ‘young people’ are more adept at using technology has been around for a long time and long before Prensky (2001) introduced the concept of the Digital Native’ and ‘Digital Immigrant’ . He defined the natives as ‘students of Page 1

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Page 1: 20th Century Educators and 21st Century Learners

20th Century Educators and 21st Century Learners: The

need for change in education.Fiona Grindey, Introduction to Digital Environments for learning, February 2011

IntroductionFor some time now there has been much debate over the next generation of learners, especially those entering Higher Education and whether or not the Universities are providing today’s student body with the necessary skills that needed in order to benefit the workplace into which they will enter. A decade ago, Prensky (2001) coined the term ‘Digital Native’. This term has been used widely within the media, causing an array of conclusions about the future of education and the abilities of a generation of ‘technology savvy’ learners. The essay has been divided into sections on the digital native debate with a discussion on how it is necessary to develop a new model of delivery to meet the needs of a different style of working. This then leads to the recognition of the importance to teach new skills in examining their use of technology and how the broad term of digital literacy has come to define a new skill set essential to the success of these learners.   It will also detail the challenges and issues faced by the educators and institutions of these increasingly 'media savvy' groups of learners and consider what the implications are to Higher Education. It concludes that although we are in times of austerity we are also in a time of change and students would be failed if Universities do not adapt to meet the needs of the society that they should be serving.

Digital Natives and Digital ImmigrantsIan Dukes – Understanding the Digital Generation

The idea that ‘young people’ are more adept at using technology has been around for a long time and long before Prensky (2001) introduced the concept of the ‘Digital Native’ and ‘Digital Immigrant’. He defined the natives as ‘students of today’ and the immigrants as ‘those of us not born into the digital world’. The term he coined has become highly influential, being in common usage

in the media. A Digital Native is someone who because of the era into

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which they have been born has the ability to master all forms of digital media. They are used to and expect to be able to use technology in order to function in all areas of their lives. They use it to communicate, gather information, for entertainment and for their social life. In fact at all levels, this generation is ‘switched on’. The Digital Immigrant on the other hand, may have an interest in technology and may use it to some extent, but that they will always bring part of their ‘old life’ with it. For example, Prensky mentions that Digital Immigrants have an ‘accent’ meaning that they may print off email instead of reading them on the screen or that they may call someone to check that they had received their email or text. Click here for ‘Understanding the Digital Generation’

Don Tapscott – Talking about Digital Natives

There have been many other proponents of the idea of a generation of tech savvy individuals. Quite famously, Don Tapscott wrote about the ‘Net Generation’ or ‘NetGeners’ (Tapscott, 1999, 2009) in his book ‘Growing Digital’ where he talked about the ‘defining characteristic

of a generation’ was their immersion in technology for every aspect of their lives. He defined them as those born after 1978 and surrounded by technology considering it as part of the landscape. In his latest book, ‘Grown Digital’ (2009) he has argued that this generation has now ‘come of age’ and that they are entering the workplace and all areas of society.

YouTube Cartoon presentation on Digital Natives

The term ‘Millennials’ was coined by Neil Howe and William Strauss who described them as born in 1982 and so graduating in 2000 (cited Schulmeister 2009). All in all, and there has been much said of the technology generation. They all agree that there has been a step change in the way in which the youth of today’s environment is formed.

Prenksy (2001b) identified that research has shown our brains are constantly changing, previously it was thought that our brains only changed at a very young age. However if this is the case, then the brains

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of anyone, regardless of generation, living in a technological society would be constantly adapting. Of course, therefore, the argument for a straight cut down the middle approach to defining the technological ability for a generation, assuming that they are able (and want to use technology) has been refuted or rather refined over the years. Selwyn (2009) engaged in a mission to promote a ‘realistic understanding of young people and technology’ in his paper, ‘The digital native – myth and reality’ in which he argues that although there has been a wide spread acceptance that of the concept of the new generation of digital users amongst the masses there needs to be a more detailed review of how children and young people use new technologies based upon looking at not merely the age into which they were born but to other important factors such as gender, geography, socio economic status and social class. He adds that some of these so called ‘Digital Natives’ can appear to be ‘digitally- excluded’ much more than the adults already are and that their use of technology is much more limited than some of the literature that has formed public opinion has had us to believe.

Stoerger (2009) claims that it is a more complex debate than just a generational approach with many more factors needing to be considered. Interestingly, she notes that the label is applied from a technology point of view and that in terms of technology many of the digital natives may be ‘tech savvy’ but not necessarily in the ways relevant for education. They come to the classroom with a range of levels in expertise in using technology which belies the myth that all young people have a digitally innate ability to use technology.

There is also an issue in the demography of the students that are coming to university, not all of the cohorts are ‘Millennial’s’ or Digital Natives. Many people are returning to University level education from a wide range of generations, and these students have a need to use technology and can do so as well as (if not better) than the generation that are supposed to be innate users. There has been much research (Stoerger 2009, Bennett et al 2008, Beetham et al 2009) which has shown that these students have learnt to use technology as part of their lives as much as any other student and so to define a group of people based on their generation would be redundant and inaccurate. As the recent JISC report (2008) notes, we are all part of the Google Generation now.

As an update to his original work (Prenksy 2009) distanced himself from his original generational assertion with the concept of ‘Digital Wisdom’ that users of technology can adapt its use to enhance the functions that are needed at the given time. He uses Barack Obama as an example. Blending the distinction between the generations and how people are able to learn new skills. The research which looked at a Millennial approach to categorisation of these learners has recognised that age is not the determining factor (Oblinger and Oblinger 2005, cited in Jones et al, 2010) and offers a more complex view encompassing the environment, social factors and economic issues.

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This broader concept is a much more realistic approach which has been developed even further by the suggestion that when the two groups (immigrants and natives) come together, they transcend barriers by blending together ideas and uses of technology (Stoerger 2009). Therefore, the argument for a divisive generation of innate technology users is rather limited. What has become apparent is that although there is a group that have always used technology and will engage with it, the range of skill level within a cohort of ‘Digital Native’ students can be vast (Schulmeister 2009) with many of them not using technology correctly or having any idea how they could be applying it to their education. They even prefer and expect to engage in traditional practices both in terms of education and social areas (Schulmeister, 2009). The preference is for the use of technology to be the means of an end, rather than a tool that increases the value of the activity.

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What does this mean for education?

Rethinking Education – Youtube presentation

We know that as a society, technology has infiltrated into the lives of people from a range of cultures and ages, we know that this will have implications on the type of education that is necessary in order to be of value. The traditional, factory

model of education, is no longer relevant in today’s information society. Traditional forms of delivering content to a passive cohort in a lecture theatre do nothing to contribute to the needs of the graduates in the future workplace. There is a mismatch between the needs of society and the existing system of education. The values that we held in the last century and previous centuries do not fit into the world into which the graduates of today are entering (Siemens and Matheos 2010) This was succinctly demonstrated by a talk given by Sir Ken Robinson which has been animated by RSA Fellowship talking about the changing paradigm of education in 21st Century.

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Characteristics of learners in the 21st CenturyAccording to Tapscott (2009) learners in the 21st

century have different and new skills for ways of operating both for their own social lives and also for their education and working lives. These skills are developed through their literacy interactions over their lifetimes. The influences for a Digital Immigrant would be very different to those of a Digital Native. Characteristics of these learners have been identified as, they are always online, globally active and aware, they work collaboratively, are more used to creating information that just being the passive receivers, they are multi-taskers with a no tolerance for delays in all aspects of what they are involved in

(JISC 2008). These may be characteristics that have always been present, but due to technological advances in society they need to be developed and nurtured effectively and economically by education institutions (Martin and Madigan 2006).

Digital technologies have spread widely in today’s society (Beer 2010) many students have either grown up using technology as part of their educational experience or they have been used to working with technology as part of their working lives (if they are students returning to education. Due to this, arguable, the expectations of students are that when they enter Higher Education that they will continue to use these tools that they have been used to having access to in ways that allow them to tap into their skills to their best advantage, allowing them to flourish and become effective contributors to society.

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Literacy for the 21st CenturyYouTube discussion – The Myth of Digital Literacy

All things are not equal though and the range of engagement with technology and level of competence is not uniform across groups of students of the same age. As much as students are able to use the technology for

finding information, the ability to evaluate and apply the knowledge that has been uncovered is notably lacking for many students (JISC 2009). It also seems to be the case that engagement with skills development is also not seen as a priority amongst the younger student body (Schulmeister 2009). There seems to be some disconnect with the ability to use the technology and the ability to use it effectively for education. It is evident that the skills that some learners who are familiar with technology have are not necessarily suitable for the academic environment they are being used in and need to be enhanced by formal education methods (Bennett, et al 2008). It is therefore, essential that the Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) provide the guidance and support for these ‘new literacies’. There is little evidence that HEI’s are developing institution wide strategies in order to do this (JISC 2009 and Beetham et al 2009).

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Within Higher Education there has always been skills development programmes (especially in the first year of an undergraduate programme). For example, the skills for searching for information in the library and general study skills. However, with so much information available, it is clear that students do not necessarily

have the right skills to evaluate and reflect on the information that they find. This has led to some panic within the sector in terms of the dumbing down of a generation and the frustrations of some academics when confronted by lists of references from a Google Search (Brabazon 2003) The skills that need to be developed have a range of terms that have been in existence for many years, often before the internet entered the mainstream. ICT Literacy

Within education in particular, there have been a range of terms that have defined the skill sets that are necessary for effective practice at the time. For example, ICT Literacy was identified in 1976 by Nevison, as the ability to be literate in the use of computing. In this context the use of Literacy was exactly as it was originally used to demonstrate that a user could read and write, and so the meaning of ICT Literacy was that a user could write a computer program (cited in Martin and Madigan, 2006) Later the term ICT Literacy was used to encompass the use of the applications as well as the creating through the use of ICT. As the use of ICT within education developed, so did the definitions of the terms, taking the definition from the actual usage of the technology through to applying reflection and evaluation (van Joolingen 2004, cited in Martin and Madigan 2006).Technology Literacy

Technology Literacy was also a term that has influenced Digital Literacy. Technological Literacy came about partly in recognition of the emergence of a global society with increased competition. America and Britain both saw the potential impact from other markets and the effect on the workplace. In its simplest form, it was defined as the ‘ability to use, manage and understand technology’ (International Technology

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Education Association 2007) this definition was developed in America and has been used as part of their national education programme. However, it has been criticised for being too closely linked to business and not being critical enough. Information Literacy

One other popular form of literacy that has gathered significant recognition especially within education and library communities is that of Information Literacy.

The term ‘Information Literacy’ was originally developed in the 1980’s in the USA but since then has been adopted in the UK, specifically within higher education where the the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) ‘seven pillars model’ is used. It was originally developed in 2000. SCONUL states that it is intended to ‘stimulate debate amongst Library staff and other higher education staff concerned with developing student skills’.

This model has been widely used across the world (Vezzosi 2007) with institutions from Europe to the United States discussing and evaluating the development and importance of Information Literacy in Higher Education. It does not, however, cover just digital information, but covers all types of traditional literacy as well. Media Literacy

Media Literacy came about because of the increase of mass media and through research in Europe and the USA. There are similarities between Media and Information Literacy but the main difference is the genre of information and the creators of the media. In the UK, Media Literacy is advocated by OffCom who produced a report in 2008 investigating UK adults media literacy. They defined media literacy as ‘the ability to access, understand and create communications in a variety of contexts’ (OffCom 2008).

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Digital Literacy

Discussion over these terms and ideas relating them all point to the same ideas: that students have developed into a very different kind of learner who have a new set of skills that need to be nurtured by a different kind of teacher. These skills (or ‘fluencies’) have been noted by a variety of authors (Tapscott 2009, Bradwell 2009 and Selwyn 2009) for the purposes of this paper the term used for the skill sets mentioned above is ‘Digital Literacy’ but as previously mentioned there is some cross over with the types of skills involved. Essentially, the literacy skills required (in any form) is to ‘advance a persons ability to effectively and creatively communicate information’ (Jones-Kavalier et al 2006) It is about being able to evaluate and sift through the information and images that are accessible via the internet and other electronic means in a useful and practical way.

Issues for Higher EducationIn order that the Graduates of today are best suited to the society into which they will be delivered by HEI’s there is a fundamental need to develop effective and suitable strategies. According to the recent report from Beetham et al, the Learning Literacies in the Digital Age project (2009) provided higher education and further education with relevant research on how the learners of the 21st century should be developed. Their work focussed on specific trends, namely that there should be an increased focus on digital literacies, with support from all areas of the institution, including library and support staff, and Careers centres working together to support students’ as the skills that are essential for employment. They suggested that there should be an increased focus on collaborative learning using digital networks, with greater support for learner led collaborations and generated content (including resources). Interestingly, they also suggested that institutions should be open to these ideas for their staff, ie, sharing teaching practice, making resources more open and accessible.

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Features of the ‘digital literacies’ paradigm shift

From ToWe know, we teach

youLearners' digital skills being

recognised, rewarded and used as a resource for the learning community

Established methods, based in disciplines

Emerging and mixed methods, interdisciplinary problem spaces

Induction and one-off training model of literacy support

Ongoing review, progression and just-in-time support

Students become 'qualified' in specific kinds of academic knowledge practices

Students need to strategically manage a range of knowledge practices, for different contexts

Technologies are introduced according to the requirements of the curriculum

(Yes, and) the curriculum is continually modified by the impacts of technology in the environment

Disaggregated services, deployed at particular points in the learning cycle (library, ICT, study skills, careers)

Integrated support for students' learning development and different learning pathways

Stable job market, 'employability' has clear features, particularly in specific vocations and professions

Unstable job market: adaptability, resilience, multitasking, capacity to exercise judgement and management of multiple roles to the fore

Students typically on two-year (FE) or three-year (HE) programmes of study: ongoing relationship with institution

Students engaged in multiple forms of learning, often while employed and/or attending several institutions: relationships more flexible, short-term and contractual in nature

Modular assessment: focus on achievement within clearly defined curriculum goals

Some cross-modular assessment: focus on self efficacy and the ability to integrate skills/know-how

Table 1 From ‘Thriving in the 21st century’ LLiDA ProjectThe development and support for digital literacies needs to be embedded into the curriculum with a range of staff from academics to support,

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library and outreach staff supporting them. Academic’s have a responsibility to really get involved and take the lead in demonstrating through their own practices and knowledge around these skills (Gillen & Barton 2010). However, the practice is usually patchy and so there would need to be a cultural change within HEI’s that has to happen in order to meet the needs of the future employers and the graduates.

Arguable technology has allowed access to information that has never been seen before. This started in America through initiatives such as the Hewlett’s Foundation Open Educational Resources (OER) which has allowed high quality teaching materials to be free to anyone (Iiyoshi and Kumar,2008) changing the traditional closed model of education. More and more institutions are offering teaching materials for free (MIT, Open University, JISC et al) There has been much fear from HEI’s as information has always been a premium but now there has been a shift from content to skills. This is a more 21st Century approach to the delivery of materials with a new role for the academic, that of coach or mentor. Acknowledgement of the need for change has already begun in some sixth form’s with the recognition of a need to change the style of the curriculum in many institutions, Barton Peverill Sixth Form College and Wellington Independent School recently gave presentations at the University of Southampton on their experiences of their students readiness for University. Both of them cited the need to develop skills in analysing and evaluating information.

Where do we go from here? YouTube presentation -The Future of Learning

Essentially, there is a potential clash of cultures between this century and last century in terms of teaching styles and potential outcomes for the students. If the aim of teaching is to

tell students what they need to know in order to pass an exam, then we have it right. But if the aim is to prepare students for the workplace and

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provide them with the knowledge that they need in order to function in our global society, then we have it wrong. There is a wealth of evidence to show us that the skills of the students entering HEI’s have changed (JISC 2009). The argument that the basis of your generation defines how you will learn and what digital skills you have to offer is very shallow and the evidence is that it is a more complex argument than the term Digital Natives and Immigrants suggests (Bennett et al 2008). It has more to do with your education, culture and social class (Beetham et al 2009, Jones et al 2009) Although the use of technology is significant amongst adolescent users, the realities of technology is prevalent within our society (Selwyn 2009) and as such every generation is touched by it.

All students need scaffolding, and structure to their learning, by developing the skills essential for the analysis of the information available and the creation of new information it is essential that programmes of support are in place and embedded within institutions. There is a real danger that HEI’s may not be ready to offer this support as they remain steadfast in their attitudes towards teaching.

YouTube Presentation: Changing to Learn – Learning to Change

There is a need to foster the engagement with technology by facilitation, more coaching than teaching. In order for institutions to remain at the forefront of innovation and research, the old

fashioned models need to change; with more flexibility, open education and research (Iiyoshi et al 2008) the increase in the ability to access information is no longer the privilege of universities and many great minds have now a place to meet – via the internet. Institutions need to offer more than just access to information, they need to reflect the society in which they are placed by supporting, allowing for creativity in a global society (Siemens et al 2010).

But there are questions over how to change a culture that has deep roots in a factory system of education. There is a clash of between the tech savvy and some technophobic academics who insist of ‘doing things the way that they have always done’ and are resistant to change, both in terms of teaching practice and engagement with technology (Harris et al

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2010). In the UK, HEFCE budgets have been cut and new funding models are changing the way in which we offer places to University students, leading us into the unknown. There is a huge level of uncertainty about the impact of the recent Browne review for Higher Education. When budgets are being strained and staffing levels hit as a consequence, what does the future hold for the support of the skills needed for education and research in UK institutions, and how will this impact on the skills of UK graduates and their global prospects?

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Beer, J. (2010). Key Issues Facing HEI’s Retrieved: January 21st 2011 http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/aboutus/strategy/janet%20beer%20essay.pdf

Beetham, H., McGill, L., Littlejohn, A. (2009) Thriving in the 21st century: Learning Literacies for the Digital Age (LLiDA project). JISC funded study.

Bennett, S.,Maton, K. and Kervin, L. (2008) The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence. British Journal of Educational Technology 39 (5) 775-786.

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Jones-Kavalier, B. and Flannigan, S. (2006) Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century. Educause Quarterly (2) pp.8-10

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OffCom – Media Literacy Audit: A Report on UK Adults Media Literacy (2008) Retrieved: 9th February 2011 http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/media-literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/ml_adult08/

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Robinson, K. (2010) The Changing Paradigm in Education. Retrieved: February 2nd 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=channel

Schulmeister, R. (2009) Is there a Net Gener in the House? eLearning and Education (eLEED) 5th Issue. Retrieved: April 1st 2010 http://eleed.campussource.de/archive/5/1587/

SCONUL’s ‘Seven Pillars’ model http://www.sconul.ac.uk/groups/information_literacy/sp/model.html Retrieved: February 11th 2011

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Tapscott, D. (1999)(2nd ed.) Growing Up Digital. (New York, McGraw-Hill)Tapscott, D. (2009) Grown Up Digital. (New York, Mcgraw-Hill).Vezzosi, M. (2007) Information literacy, competencies and curriculum: an international round-table: Milano (Italy) Palazzo Stelline: 15-16 March 2007. Journal of Information Literacy, 1, (2)

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