Today colleges and universities are working with students who are younger than the Internet. They were born at the end of the last century, and are referred to as millennials or the Net Generation. Their learning style and time management preferences may respond better to continuous tasks and constant feedback. This paper examines the statistical…

Adult learning today takes place primarily within walled classrooms or in other indoor settings, and often in front of various types of digital screens. As adults have adopted the digital technologies and indoor lifestyle attributed to the so-called "Net Generation," we have become detached from contact with the natural world outdoors.…

The quiet revolution of consumer IT reached a climax recently with the widespread adoption of smart consumer devices and their rapid penetration into enterprise IT applications. This significant change of attitude, as well as the reliance on information technology has been referred to as "Consumerization of Information Technology"…

Purpose: Generation Y (Gen Y) is the newest and largest generation entering the workforce. Gen Y may differ from previous generations in work-related characteristics which may have recruitment and retention repercussions. Currently, limited theoretically-based research exists regarding Gen Y's work expectations and goals in relation to…

The development of communications technology in recent years has not only changed the ways in which students can access their world: it also changes the way they think about it. Sheldrake and Watkin draw here upon work that characterises the way in which the "iGeneration" think about the world around them, and suggest ways in which…

This study investigated the claims made in the popular press about the "digital native" generation as learners. Because students' lives today are saturated with digital media at a time when their brains are still developing, many popular press authors claim that this generation of students thinks and learns differently than any generation that has…

Most of the social and economic policies in the U.S. do not explicitly address or take into account the growing importance of families as sources of human capital and determinants of individual success. Even the small subsets of programs that we conventionally frame as part of "family policy" are often based on long-defunct assumptions…

The current crop of "digital natives"--kids born into a world of modern technology--has been immersed in a world of video games, computers, digital music players, and cell phones from an early age. Shaped by the Internet, Google searches, and instant messaging, they can't imagine life without technology. Theirs is a vastly different world from…

This paper examines discussions of Generation Y within higher education discourse, arguing the sector's use of the term to describe students is misguided for three reasons. First, portraying students as belonging to Generation Y homogenises people undertaking higher education as young, middle-class and technologically literate. Second, speaking of…

This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion on the current generation of students and their relationship to technology, providing qualitative, empirical information obtained in the Chilean context. The study analyses and discusses the ideas regarding the emergence of a new generation of learners, or digital natives, as characterised by…

The importance of educating students to think critically and creatively was recognized over 2,000 years ago by Socrates, reworked in the 1950s by Benjamin Bloom, and reinforced by many modern-day educators. With changes in lifestyle brought on by innovations in digital technology, teachers, administrators, and parents alike are questioning the…

Introduction: Members of the millennial generation (born after 1982) have come of age in a society infused with technology and information. It is unclear how they determine the validity of information gathered, or whether or not validity is even a concern. Previous information search models based on mediated searches with different age groups may…

As the web continues to morph, creating a more interlinked, connected, and hybridized human experience, educators are experiencing a generational shift in terms of comfort with technology. The number of technologies becoming available to students and teachers is dizzying. Within the array of possibility, this research considers three technological…

As new technologies emerge that can bring older adults together with children, little has been discussed by researchers concerning the design methods used to create these new technologies. Giving both children and older adults a voice in a shared design process comes with many challenges. This paper details an exploratory study focusing on…

A decade has passed since author, game designer, and educational thought leader Marc Prensky heralded the arrival of a new generation of students whose immersion in information technology distinguished them in fundamental ways from previous generations. Because they had spent their entire lives "surrounded by and using computers, videogames,…