Students currently studying at tertiary institutions have developed a set of attitudes and aptitudes as a result of growing up in an IT and media-rich environment. These attitudes and aptitudes influence how they learn and in order to be effective, lecturers must adapt to address their learning preferences and use the online teaching tools that these students are familiar with. In a South African context it was found that students spend a significant amount of time in interactive online image-rich environments and are accustomed to this environment. A number of suggestions are made on how to incorporate this in tertiary education.