Generation Z students are described as being our first "digital natives" who have grown up typing with their thumbs on smartphones and tuning out school-based interactions that do not capture their short attention spans. As Gen Z students occupy more post-secondary rosters for web based courses, they seek instructional models that…

Technology is changing at a blistering pace and is impacting on the way we consider knowledge as a free commodity, along with the ability to apply skills, concepts and understandings. Technology is aiding the way the world is evolving, and its contributions to education are not an exemption. While technology advances will play a crucial part in…

The number of Generation Z English Language (EL) learners in institutions of higher education has been increasing, so it has become significant for EL teachers to understand the features and learning preferences of Generation Z EL learners to meet their needs and teach English to them effectively. This descriptive study which was conducted with…

Learners from different generations have enrolled and graduated from educational institutions for many decades, but educators have been using the same strategies despite what generation they teach in their classrooms. A new generation of students has occupied today's classrooms who are called 'Generation Z' or Gen Z for short, and they are…

The main aim of this study was to investigate the new generation in order to identify their distinctive characteristics considering their everyday technology use during their lifespan. The secondary aim was to examine the needs of individuals in the Generation-Z in educational environments equipped with technology. A mixed-method research design…

Generation Z, also known as the Homeland Generation, is the most recent generational cohort to enter the university setting. As with other generational cohorts, various shaping factors have impacted this group contributing to its unique and defining characteristics. When carefully considered, these characteristics may provide insight into how to…

This paper reports on a literature review of the concept of "Digital Natives" and related terms. More specifically, it reports on the idea of a homogeneous generation of prolific and skilled users of digital technology born between 1980 and 1994. In all, 127 articles published between 1991 and 2014 were reviewed. On the basis of the…

As digital technologies form an inextricable part of young people's everyday lives, some commentators claim that the current generation of learners think and learn differently from their predecessors. This study investigated the validity of this claim by surveying 799 undergraduate and 81 postgraduate students at a large research-intensive…

As distance education continues to be utilized by higher learning institutions, many struggle in knowing how to effectively utilize tools for the benefit of the students, faculty and staff facilitating online courses, distance education departments, and the university as a whole. This paper will highlight survey and interview results from…

In Michael Wesch's (2007) now widely seen video "A Vision of Students Today" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o), a camera pans across a large, traditional classroom where college students hold up messages about themselves as members of the current generation of learners, who have been dubbed Millennials (Howe & Strauss, 2000). The video…

Some authors have stated that university students born after 1982 have been profoundly influenced by digital technologies, showing different characteristics when compared to previous generations. However, it is worth asking if that is a current observable phenomenon. Are those students born after the 80s really more familiar with ICT tools than…