Net Generation Learning
Teaching Homo Zappiens
Wim Veen / 7/5/2005
1
Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management

Homo Zappiens

Homo Zappiens
The generation
§ Playing Games The
generation
• Grand Theft Auto, World of Warcraft, PS2,
Xbox, LAN Parties for whom
§ Communicating 24/7 learning is
playing
• Via SMS, MSN, chatrooms, mobile
§ Integrating f2f and virtual friends
§ Never reading a manual
§ Not interested in technology

Daily Media Uses

Homo Zappiens
nThe generation inventing games
§Without winners or losers, without start or end, and
changing the rules continuously….

MSN 24/7:
10 simultaneous conversations
More than 150 contacts

Flickr: Tagging and Sharing Images

Homo Zappiens is
n Skateboarding up the stairs
n Surfing the waves and snowboarding instead of skiing
n Searching for extremes
School is for
meeting friends
rather than for
learning

Homo Zappiens at Work
Multi-Tasking
Iconic Skills
Processing Discontinued
Information
Non-Linear Approach

6 | 31
Integrated scanning skills
'ZapLab‘, A Visual Environment For Associative Information Retrieval of Learning Assets and Objects

Multi tasking
Calling a friend
Listening to
favorite music
Doing Math
homework
Surfing or MSN

Processing discontinued information
Channel 1
Channel 2
Channel 3
Zapping is the skill to construct meaningful knowledge
from discontinued audio-visual and textual information
flows

Non linear approach
Linear Non-linear
B D
A B C D E F C A
F
E
Non-linear learning strategies demand a
redesign of content: learning assets, objects
to be accessed just-in-time

Gaming as a learning environment

Using Different Media leading to
Different skills

Parents are good at reading….
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh
uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr
the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny
iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat
ltteer is at the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a toatl mses and you can
sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is
bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it
slef but the wrod as a wlohe.

Homo Zappiens’ writing
My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2
NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 : kids FTF.
ILNY, it’s a gr8 plc. *
My summer holidays were a complete waste of
time. Before, we used to go to New York to see
my brother, his girlfriend and their three
screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It’s
a great place.
* Daily Telegraph, Sun Mar 2, 2003, British Girl Baffles Teacher with SMS Essay

…. but less good at visual clues

Homo Zappiens learns differently...
Homo Zappiens Homo Sapiens
n twitch speed n conventional speed
n multi tasking n mono tasking
n non linear approaches n linear approaches
n processing discontinued n processing single information
information flows
n iconic skills first n reading skills first
n connected n stand alone
n collaborative n competitive
n active n passive
n learning by playing n separating learning and
playing
n instant payoff n patience
n fantasy n reality
n technology as friend n technology as foe
courtesy: Mark Prensky

Conclusion 1
n Homo Zappiens develops a range of metacognitive
skills:
§ Enquiry based approaches
§ Networked learning: thinking as part of networks
§ Experiential learning: no punishments
§ Collaborative learning: teams and roles
§ Active learning: making choices, act
§ Self organisation: setting goals
§ Problem solving strategies
§ Expliciting knowledge to others

Conclusion 2
n Homo Zappiens has a multimedia reference framework
and communicates accordingly
§ Jungle Book, The Matrix, Kill Bill 1 and 2, South
Park, TMF, The Box, MTV, Manga, Kollaboration
n Homo Zappiens thinks menus and keywords
§ Computers, cell phones, ipods, pdas, search
engines

As a consequence
Homo Zappiens is
n a creative problem solver
n an experienced communicator
n a self-directed learner

Conclusion 3
n Students are digital
n Universities are analogue
n Regular education is still linear
n ICT is used for substitution, not for transformation

Digital and Analogue?
n Analogue data are fixed
§ Math formulas on paper
§ Texts and graphs
n Digital data can be manipulated
§ Math Java Applets
§ Kazaa, LimeWire
§ Roller Coaster

Consequences for Education
nCurriculum nJust-in-time content
nCourses nInterdisciplinary approach
nSubject matters nAppropriate communities
nWhole classroom teaching nLearning in groups of
interest
nTimeslots of 45 minutes nTimeslots of 4 hours
nSchool years nPersonal itiniraries
nExams nPortfolios

Consequences for Content

Resources for Individual Learning

Learning the Wiki Way
“Wiki,\" the Hawaiian word
for \"quick,\" allows groups to
jointly create and edit Web
pages, using a special
formatting style that is
different from the HTML
format used for regular
Web pages

Content is no longer King

Did you start a
project using the
Omidyar Network?

Consequences of ICT for learning
nLearning is searching for meaning
nKnowledge is communication about meaning
nDigital data and information become a tool for
knowledge construction
nLearning with ICT goes beyond understanding of
others’ thoughts by generating new ideas of your own