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Show TEACHING THE MILLENNIAL STUDENT ONLINE: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES BY AMY OSMOND PHOTOGRAPH BY TERESA GETTEN 'The single biggest problem facing education today is that our. . . instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language" (p. 2), states Marc Prensky (2001), author of "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants/' He states that college and university instructors as a whole are not only less technologically savvy than their "millennial students," but they are also using outmoded forms of pedagogy and communication and thus fail to teach students effectively. In an effort to accommodate the needs and preferences of millennial students, universities are increasingly turning to a digital environmentâ€"the online classroomâ€"to educate. Who are millennial students? What are the pros and cons of online classrooms? And how can we successfully use the digital environment to educate? The purpose of this article is to answer these questions. Defining the "Millennial Student" The "millennial student" refers generally to 18-to-22-year-old college students growing up in the digital age (Oblinger and Oblinger, 2005). Howe and Strauss (2000) categorize these students as those who gravitate toward group activity; identify with parents' values and feel close to their parents; believe it's cool to be smart; are fascinated by new technologies; are racially and ethnically diverse; are focused on grades and performance; and are busy with extracurricular activities. Tom Bell (2006), vice president of the Blackboard company, reiterates these characteristics. He states that millennial students "maintain close ties to their parents, are highly dependent and [are] less likely than previous generations of students to venture out on their own. They demand a secure, regulated environment, and generally act respectfully toward social conventions and mores." Millennial students are trained to be achievers, are focused on performance and grades, and tend to be voracious consumers who rely on credit to make online purchases. The overriding stereotypical characteristic of millennial students is their ability to use technology. As Phalen (2002) states, "today's children embrace machines; communicate in isolation; and spend hours in chat rooms, conversing with masked personas." Some, like Marc Prensky (2001) and Bruce Berry of Baylor college (in Phalen, 2002), believe that millennial students' emphasis on technology has caused them to "think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors" (p. 1). Students growing up in the digital age have little patience for lectures, step-by-step logic, and "tell-test" instruction. They are used to the "twitch speed" of video games and MTV. They're used to instantly receiving hypertext, music, beamed messages, 6 lessons | fall 2007 |
