Chalkboards, Whiteboards,
and the Internet
How Gen Y is Ushering-In an Age of
Digital Learning
Michael Netzley, PhD

Teacher-Centered Model
• Sage on the
Stage
• One person
holds the chalk
• To various
degrees, passive
audience

Lenovo’s Mary Ma on Education
Regarding the acquisition and
integration of IBM, Mary Ma noted
how education socialized employees
in ways that impacted their job
performance for decades. Passive
education translated into passive
workplace tendencies, and
opportunities to improve the M&A
process were missed when initiative
was not taken.
McKinsey Interview Here

Education 2.0

Traditional Literacies

Meet Gen Y
http://www.genythinktank.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/esfacebook.jpg

Socializing a Digital Native
• The average college grad starting work
– 5,000 hours of video games on average
– 250,000 email, instant, and text messages
– 10,000 hours of hand phone use
– 3,500 hours of time on-line
• “Today’s younger workers are not
little us-es.”
Pew Research, Digital Natives Invade the Workplace, 2006

Asia’s Gen X Characteristics
• Not as different from their parents as Gen
Xers in other parts of the world
– High expectations for career progression, pay,
and material possessions (Singapore dream)
– They are less job-loyal
– They as brand-loyal as their parents
– They are more receptive to media than other
Gen X populations (e.g., North America)

Asia’s Gen Y Characteristics
• Singapore’s Gen Y population does differ
from Gen X and Baby Boomers
– Speed: grown-up with compressed time (2
minute noodles, Internet, and text messages
– Stimulation: Xbox, World of Warcraft,
multimedia presentations, instant choice
– Gen Y means that they, “ask why?”
– Control: custom computers, latte to order, etc
– Constant technology and access

SG Netizens: On-line Behavioral Preferences
wiki contribution
Microblog
On-line Ratings
Personal Blog
Upload Videos
Leave Comment Blog
Visit Friends' SNS
My SNS
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0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 10
0
30+ 20-30 <20
© 2009 Michael Netzley, research.

SG Netizens: On-line Behavioral Preferences
Broad Patterns are Consistent
• Joining: SNS most preferred
• Expressing: Less interest
outside the walled gardens
Generational Gaps are Clear
• Gen Y & Z: leading the way
• Gen X and Boomers:
Dramatically less active online

What Does It Mean?
•Experiencing wave of 2.0
savvy learners
• Privacy remains important
• Standing in the shadows

Gen X Gen Y
Similar to parents Eye-catching; fun
Style
Get to the point—what do If and when I need, I
Content
I need to know? will look it up online
Relevance to what Relevance to now,
Context
matters to me today, and my role
Less job-loyal than OK with authority that
Attitude
parents; cut-above-the- earns their respect
rest mentality
Media; some face-to-face Online; wired;
Tactics
meetings, games, online seamlessly connected
Immediate; when I need it Five minutes ago
Speed
Whenever Constant
Frequency

Gartner’s Hype Cycle

Gartner’s Hype Cycle 2008
Web 2.0
Wiki

Place yourself
on this
continuum

Are we Web
2.0 savvy
educators?

Faculty Adoption: The Research
• “Some faculty members feel that some Web 2.0
technologies could improve students’
learning…few choose to use them.”
• Faculty attitude and perceived behavioral control
are strong predictors of [faculty] intention to use
Web 2.0
– Admin should focus on perceived usefulness and ease of use
– Faculty need to feel confident using the technologies
– Best practices models are needed
Investigating Faculty Decisions to adopt Web 2.0 Technologies:
Theory and empirical Tests. Internet and Higher Education. (2008)

SMU
Experience

Education 2.0: Talking

Education 2.0: Listening

Global Knowledge Community
Blogs
Microblogs
RSS
Social Networks

Your
Experience

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