centre for education & technology learning strategies for the media generation coping with homo...

Centre for Education & Technology

Learning Strategies for the Media Generation Coping with Homo Zappiens

Wim Veen



Who is Homo ZappiensThe generation using three tiny devices from early childhood on …


Who is Homo Zappiens It is the generation playing games

Riven, Atlantis, Planetarion, Unreal Tournament, B&W, PlayStations I and II

Communicating with SMS, MSN, chatrooms

The generation that mixes f2f and virtual friends

The generation for which learning is playing and having fun


Playing games in

worldwide teams


Chatting in three rooms

at a time with different

electronic personalities


Sending e-cards including text,

music, voice, and images


Finding out about the

latest earthquakes


Who is Homo Zappiens

The generation that invents games Without winners or losers, without a clear start or end, and

creating their own rules and changing them whenever they like


Who is Homo Zappiens

The generation that is skeelering up the stairs, instead of down the stairs

The generation that is surfing the waves of the sea, and snowboarding in stead of skiing.

The generation considering school as a

meeting place rather than a

learning place


Schools Complaining Homo Zappiens

Short attention spans They cannot even listen for more than 5 minutes!

Hyper active behavior They cannot concentrate on one task at a time!

No discipline Crushing their calculators, forgetting their textbooks, not

passing on letters from school to their parents!

No respect They consider teachers as their equals!


In stead of looking at children from a point of view what they should do according to their parents and teachers, why not looking at them from the point of view what they actually do?


Integrated scanning skills

Multi-tasking

Processingdiscontinuedinformation

Non-linearapproaches

Homo Zappiens at Work


Scanning texts, sounds,

movement, colours, and

images




Multi-tasking





Listening hisfavorite music

Phoning to his friend

Surfing the Net

Doing his home-work




Multi-tasking




Processing discontinued information

Channel 1

Channel 2

Channel 3

Zapping TV channels is constructing interrupted visual, audio and textual information chunks into meaningful knowledge




Multi-tasking




Non-linear approaches

Linear

B CA E FD

Non-linear

B

C A

EF

D

Non linear approaches require a redesign of content according to new insights of learning and using multimedia technologies


Do the Homo Zappiens skills relate to learning?


About Learning

We learn by reflecting on our experiences creating ‘mental maps and models’

Learning is the process of adapting our mental models by including new experiences.


Basics of Constructivism Learning is searching for meaning Constructing meaningful knowledge

demands understanding of the whole and its constituant parts

The aim of learning is constructing your own meaningful knowledge


Brain based Learning

Human brains are neural networks acting as complex systems (adaptive, non-linear, and self-organizing)

Learning is a non linear process of adaptivity of the system using associative and creative thinking


Brain based Learning Learning is enhanced by

confronting learners with complex, interactive experiences, high level content within an authentic context, and fitting the learner’s interests or needs

a challenging content and learning activities

Activating learning methods foster internalization of information


Summarizing……...• Learning is an active mental process of the

learner • reflection with the ‘inner self’, and through

communication with others• transforming information into meaningful

knowledge• Teaching is enabling students to be active,

communicating, thus constructing knowledge


First Conclusion Homo Zappiens prepares for future Education is underestimating the Homo

Zappiens Education does not recognise the

screenagers’ learning skills Education will have to adopt entirely new

learning approaches


Second Conclusion

….The skills that screenagers develop while scanning computer screens, zapping the TV channels, multitasking, ‘cross reading’ texts, and thus rapidly processing huge amounts of information, will guarantee the survival of our civilization in the 21st century.


New Approaches for Teaching

Flexibility of content Flexibility of learning models Flexibility in time/scheduling Flexibility of goals and assessment Flexibility of the learning community

Preparing for a creative society instead of an industrial society


Flexible Content

Defining new ‘core’ content OECD’s study on what pupils should know for future

Using any resources available from everywhere Good bye to the linear traditional textbooks

Using the communication facilities for asking, finding out and discuss Hello mobile devices for new learning services

Ministries to provide guidelines in stead of detailed curricula


Flexibility of Learning Models

Teacher led Community led Learner led

Teachers to become ‘side-by-side’ learners, facilitators, and the ‘guide on the side’


Flexibility in Time/Scheduling

7 lessons a day each lesson is 50

minutes each week is the

same 40 weeks a year

Less whole classroom teaching

Subject oriented timeslots

Varying periods for individual and group working

Schools to become autonomous institutions


Flexibility of Assessment Students own their learning process Schools may define competencies Students can take responsibility

formulating and checking their own learning goals

Students can prove their competencies by submitting (multi media) materials showing their

competencies e.g. in electronic portfolios

Secondary students to learn and work from 16+


Flexibility of Learning Communities Opening up schools

e.g. Tesco’s 2000 Network Learning Communities: learning with parents, external experts, governmental authorities: the extended learning community

Schools will loose their primacy of educational services

Schools, multimedia companies, TV broadcasters, and other private companies to establish ‘Public Private Partnerships for Learning’


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