‘Does the New Digital Generation of Learners Exist?(A Qualitative Study)’

Written by Jaime Sanchez, Alvaro Salimas, David Contreras, and Eduardo Meyer

Presented by:Sutaryo

(2089835)

Presentation covers:IntroductionRelated workMethodology (Method, Sample, Instrument,

Procedure)ResultsDiscussionsConclusions

Introduction

‘This new generation is familiarized with media-based languages and feels comfortable performing several tasks at once’ (p. 543).

‘Its members are used to immediacy and have an ability to learn by rapidly processing parallel and discontinuous information’ (p. 543)

Controversy:Bennett, Maton and Kervin (2008) based on Tapscott and Prensky: weak empirical substantiation; and emergence of a new generation does not consider the variety of experiences subjects have with technology (Bennet et al, 2008; Kennedy, Judd, Churchward&Gray, 2008).Discussion: absence of empirical evidence (Cabra-Torres&Marciales-Vivas, 2009); new evidence (Tapscott, 2009): current generation has changed radically compared to previous generations (p. 543-544).

‘Massive access to and use of ICT among the youngest members of the population has led numerous authors to suggest the existence of a generation that

has been socialized in a media based world’

(Carstens&Beck, 2005; Montgomery, 1996; Oblinger&Oblinger, 2005; Pedro, 2006;

Prensky, 2001; Rideout et al, 2005; Tapscott,

1999) (Sanchez, Salinas, Contreras, & Meyer: 2011, p.543)

NetGeneration: ‘with its vast experience and familiarity with digital technology and its varied associated practices – central role in the political life of the 21s

t

century; digital natives seem to demand more participation and are applying more power through the internet, supervising the performance of political class, and making its voices heard more directly within the political sphere. In education, they feel more comfortable with customized, collaborative and interactive learning’ (p. 544)

‘This study contributes to the discussion on the current generation of students and their relationship to technology – empirical information obtained in Chilean context’. (p. 544).

Related Work:In Global Context

New millennium learners ‘is a term widely used to designate those generations born from the 1980s onwards and who have been raised in a context where digital technologies form an inextricable part of daily life’ (...), in the broadest sense (they) are mediated by these technologies’ (Pedro, 2006, p. 2) (p. 544).

Access and use of ICTs is practically universal in the richest European countries (International Telecommunication Union (ITU, 2009b) and in the USA and Canada (ITU, 2009a) (p. 544)

In Chilean Context:In Chile, access to ICTs among the youth is widespread, with a relatively equitable degree of distribution regarding the various socio-economic levels (p. 544).

It is still far from the levels of developed countries (ITU, 2009a; PNUD, 2006) (p. 544).

To illustrate this, the schools in developed countries have a student to computer ratio of almost 1:10, in Chile the current ratio is 1:26 (Enclases, 2008) (p. 544).

In unpublished statistics the ratio will be at 1:10 in Chile by 2010. The school has operated as a point of access to ICTs among the youth, especially in context where there is no other possibility of access (PNUD, 2006; Sanchez & Salinas, 2008) (p. 544).

Related Work cont.. (Traits of New Generation)

Cognitive Traits (Prensky, 2001, p.1)

‘today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors,

digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast,

they like to parallel process and multi-task,

they prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite,

they prefer random access,

they function best when networked,

they thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards,

they prefer games to ‘serious’ work.

Related Work cont...

‘The institution of education appears to be distant from or at conflict with the new generation of students’ (Pedro, 2006) (p. 545).

‘our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language’ (Prensky, 2001 p. 2) (p. 545).

The writers’ summary: ‘...the emergence of a new generation is characterized by having lived all its life surrounded by and immersed in digital technology, that is familiar with the use of such technology, and that is developing new practices, values, preferences and interests that are having an influence on institution such as the school’ (p. 545).

Two Hypotheses of the Study:‘Experience with ICT in Chile is socially distributed in such a way that the traits of a digital native generation are only specific to certain social groups or niches, in which this digital experience is distinct from the rest of the peers’. It has to do with cultural practices associated with specific groups, and not traits that are shared by an entire generation (p. 545).

‘For the groups that make more sophisticated use of technology, the practices associated with ICTs will not imply certain skills described in the literature as different and distinctive from those present in previous generations’ (p. 545).

MethodologyThe study is of an exploratory and descriptive nature, qualitative perspective with grounded theory design.

It seeks to critically analyze the emergence or not, of a generation with cognitive and social traits described by Tapscott, Prensky, and PedroIt was sough to:-identify how the traits of the new generation of students are expressed in their opinions and their perceptions of their own actions, based on the in-school experiences of the subjects; -understand the role of the traits played in the development of relations between the students, the educational institution and their teachers (p. 545).

SampleUsing a theoretical sampling method, selecting

sample based on the criteria of diversity (gender, socio-economic level) and utilizing a

critical saturation point.

‘Chilean society in general and the educational system in particular, is strongly differentiated by class’ (p.

545).

‘Chile is one of the most unequal societies in both Latin America and the world’ (World Bank, 2009) (p.

546).

Student Participants

(p. 547)

Student Participants

(p. 548)

Teacher Participants

(p. 549)

Teacher Participants

(p. 550)

InstrumentsUsing semi-structured

interviews to allow respondents to speak freely on each issue (Selltiz, Jahoda, Deutsch, &

Cook, 1959; Taylor & Bogdam, 1998) (p. 546).

Each interview lasted 45-50 minutes.

All interviews were recorded. Interviews were held for 4 months

Interviews were held in environments – appropriate for

generating a climate of trust with the subjects on familiar grounds – schools (Taylor &

Bogdam, 1998) (p. 546)

ProcedureCreating the

interview guidelines

Compiling a list of schools by

using the socio-economic level of the families that attended each school.

Schools were contacted to obtain their

approval and confirm their

participation in the study

Student participants

were selected based on gender

balance.

Teachers were selected from

the same schools – diversity,

including the subjects they

taught.

(p. 546-548)

Results of the Study

(p. 551)

Results of the StudyPerceptions of practices using communications media and other

digital technologies

A variety of practices using technology – traditional, audiovisual media (TV, radio) with new media and technologies (Internet, IPOD, video games, cell phones).

TV, cell phone, computer – most present in everyday lives of students.

During school week – use computer for few minutes or hours

On weekends or during vacations – time spent on the computer increase considerably, some spent all day playing video games or on Facebook.

Results of the Study cont...‘Teachers describe this copy and paste mode of work as harmful to development of skills in the use of information. This indicates a failure of the students’ abilities to process information’ (p. 552).

Such practices diminished level of other fundamental skills such as imagination, the ability to concentrate on one task and a reduction in the quality of research assignments (p. 552).

The ability to communicate with other people from different cultures, access to an enormous amount of information, multimedia and its contribution to different learning styles, and the possibility to collect and process information (benefit) (553).

Discussions

1. In your context, how will you do or have you done to your students to cope with their ‘copy and paste’ mode in their assignments?

2. In your context, how will you do or have you done to eliminate the distance/conflict between school and students in terms of using ICTs for students’ learning?

Conclusions‘Sociability with a strong value placed on face-to-face contact situates electronic communication as a complement and prolongation of the possibilities for sociability’ (p. 555)

There is a clear preference for computer or special console games between boys and girls. Video games – male students, male family friends, friends of some of female students (p. 554)

A wide-range of ICT experience by the youth in Chilean context is ‘not so much based on socio-economic level, as it is to gender for some specific developed countries, where idea of new learners has emerged’ (p. 555).

‘Sophisticated attention management practices are expressed (by the students) rather than a specific capacity to be able to process information simultaneously’ (p. 555).

References

Sanchez, J., Salinas, A., Contreras, D., & Meyer, E. (2011). Does the new digital generation of learners exist?: A qualitative study. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(4), 543-556. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01069.x