Teaching the 21st Century Learner

1. Teaching the 21st Century Learner Roger Von Holzen Darla Runyon Northwest Missouri State University http://cite.nwmissouri.edu/presentations/

2. Goals • Describe 21st century learners • Discuss how to teach the 21st century learner

3. Pop Quiz #1 What do these chat acronyms stand for? • B4 • LOL • POS • GNSTDLTBBB • CUL8R • KSUSHYGEMA

4. Pop Quiz #2 What do these emoticons mean? ;-) >:-(  ^5 (((((name))))  (::()::) @[_]~~ 

5. Us vs. Them • http://www.sciencemag.org • http://www.brainpop.com • http://www.yahoo.com • http://yahooligans.yahoo.com • http://www.ask.com • http://www.ajkids.com • http://www.hgtv.com • http://www.nick.com • http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com • http://www.sikids.com Digital Generations

6. Children age 6 and under… • Spend 2:01 hours / day playing outside • Spend 1:58 hours using computers • Spend 40 minutes reading or being read to • 48% of children have used a computer • 27% 4-6 year olds use a computer daily • 39% use a computer several times a week • 30% have played video games* Kaiser Family Foundation, 2003

7. By age 21… • The average person will have • sent 200,000 emails • watched 20,000 hours of TV • talked 10,000 hours on a cell phone • spent under 5,000 hours reading • played 10,000 hours video games* Prensky, 2003

8. Technology & the New Learner • Do video games pose a challenge to education? • The time and money that students spend on gaming indicates pervasive role of entertainment in our culture • Insight into engagement, not entertainment • Video games challenge K-12 and higher ed to foster engagement in learning*

9. Today’s Learners… • Crave interactivity • Read visual images • Weak reading skills • Visual-spatial skills • Parallel processing • Inductive discovery • Fast response time • Short attention span* Prensky, 2001

10. Technology & the New Learner • By the time today’s kindergarteners graduate from grade 12 • information will have doubled at least seven times • technological power will have doubled itself nearly nine times*

11. We are here Our Lives Singularity: Digital Technology CHANGE TIME © 2005 Marc Prensky

12. Our Students’ Lives CHANGE TIME © 2005 Marc Prensky

13. Teaching the New Learner • Requires: • much less emphasis on the amount of material memorized • much more emphasis on making connections, thinking through issues, solving problems*

14. Teaching the New Learner • Learning now a life-long process of coping with change • The content of a particular lesson less important than manipulating content resources • Learning how to learn is the basis of education*

15. Teaching the New Learner • Multimedia format pervades nearly every part of life • Television • Audio • Animation • Text • Students live in a world of digital, audio, and text • They expect a similar approach in classroom, which they often don’t get*

17. Faculty: Single or limited tasks Text Linear, logical, sequential Independent and individual* Students: • Multitasking • Pictures, sound, video • Random access • Interactive and networked

18. Teaching the New Learner • Teacher’s Role: • No longer the professor dispensing facts and theories • Old model: primary challenge of learning is to absorb specific information • A participant in the learning process • Faculty role will be unbundled--teacher to mentor • Facilitate peer-to-peer learning*

19. Teaching the New Learner • Instructional implications • Movement toward blended courses • More collaborative learning approaches • Continuous and formative assessment • Greater flexibility and customization of course content to meet learner needs*

20. Teaching the New Learner • Interactive course site features • Online quizzes • Forms for providing feedback or asking questions • Online voting • Games • Features for sharing pictures or stories • Virtual discussions through threaded discussion boards, blogs, wikis, and chat • Features for creating/adding content • Videoconferencing • Online collaborations via whiteboards*

21. Learning Spaces • Wireless technology enabled learning spaces within the classroom • Projection screens • Document cameras • DVD players • Video conferencing tools • Tablet PCs • Collaborative classroom software such as OneNote • Student response systems*

22. Learning Spaces • Library modules within the building and virtually within the course management system • Dual monitors for group work and collaboration in pod designs • Library research units/modules that can be duplicated into any course site • Library course sites for specific content delivery • Online library support*

23. Pedagogical Approaches • Blended instruction and learning • Face-to-face interaction and activity • Online interaction and activity • Experiential interaction and activity • Allow learning to happen easily outside the classroom • End of class is a transition to another learning space • More time spent with content*

24. Pedagogical Approaches • Collaborative learning through group/team projects • Developed using multimedia processes • Provides a more powerful learning approach than a term paper—authentic learning • Looking for practical applications, real-world context • Focus more on applying classroom lessons to real-life problems, institutions, or organizations • Allows students to focus on their learning style strengths*

25. Faculty Training • We need to have a new set of expectations of faculty • Foster a technology culture • Need for continuous faculty training • Resources and support should be available • Reward innovation in technology-rich learning environments*

26. Adults look at going online as entering a foreign place called cyberspace. 21st Century Learners look at it as where they live.

27. The New Technologies • Can help create a learning culture in which the learner enjoys enhanced interactivity and connections with others • Central issue: How can technology be organized around student learning? • Use tools to help students think and communicate effectively*

28. Roger Von Holzenrvh@nwmissouri.eduDarla Runyondrunyon@nwmissouri.edu Northwest Missouri State University http://cite.nwmissouri.edu/presentations/