Understanding Our Learners and Generational Differences

Learners are unique: They have numerous learning styles and different ways information is viewed and assimilated. Educational theorists have identified many different types of learning styles that reflect how the information may be perceived, organized, and processed.³ Learners assimilate in different ways (visually, aurally, or kinesthetically), and some forms may work better than others for individual learners. The neat aspect of using Moodle is that you, as an instructor, can learn about your learners and present information to support them using the medium in various modalities — other than kinesthetic, of course, because you would need virtual reality for that. (Perhaps in the near future the brilliant Moodle developers will design virtual Moodle classrooms that will support a kinesthetic preference.)

Moodle has provided instructors with tools and flexibility to enhance the teaching and learning experiences, not hinder them. For example, just because you can use newsfeeds (RSS; see Chapter 14) with Moodle, don't feel you need to integrate newsfeeds because other instructors are using them or because students think they're cool. Use newsfeeds only if they play part in your learning objectives. Moodle is not prescriptive — it's extensive. You determine how you will use it with your learners. There are no limits, so put your creativity to work, and you may find new uses for it. Moodle is where it's at today because of educators finding new needs and developers working to provide new features to meet those needs.

Moodle is capable of supporting different learning types. However, instructors can be trapped in designing and compromising eLearning courses by preconceived and misunderstood ideas bandied about in the media (or from software vendors) about generational diversity and technology uses. The media is saturated with terms such as “generations X, Y, Z,” “digital natives,” and “digital immigrants” (or “migrants”). Although it's important to understand how the different groups may use technology and the type of strategies they use to interact with the medium, it's more important for you to understand that you don't compromise your teaching methods and choose media based on these generalized views.

When you're developing a Moodle course, remember that just because a learner may be familiar with technology and can scan, read, or send back text at what seems like the speed of light, it doesn't mean that the learner will have sophisticated learning skills in a system such as Moodle.

Throughout the rest of this section, I define digital natives and digital immigrates and outline some of the general patterns the diverse groups demonstrate when it comes to using and interacting with technology. Note: I include references at the end of this chapter that can claim some of the original research and publication in this area. This list is by all means not exhaustive, but the list is enough to get you going if you want to research the space. The Internet is saturated with information, including blogs, ezines, and tweets.

Digital natives

The term digital natives usually refers to learners born after 1985 to date because they have grown up connected to some media. Although the generalized characteristics appear somewhat accurate across the board, the group covers far too many years when you think about the way technology has evolved and is being used. Researchers have subdivided this group, further demonstrating technological diversity among the generations. Here are the main distinctions to keep in mind when designing your Moodle course:

• Generation Y (born 1977–1994): This group is technologically sophisticated and has learned to rely on technology, though you need to watch these group members and not assume that they have capabilities when it comes to Web 2.0 and eLearning.
• Generation Z (born 1995–2012): This generation still holds a lot of unknown factors, and technology companies are having a difficult time keeping up with its demands. This generation has also been referred to as the i, net, quiet, and palm generation — members of this generation are less verbal because most of their communication is through electronic devices. The learners of this generation are impatient, seem to expect immediate results, and multitask with tech devices at exceptional speeds. They don't like to read instructions — most jump in and get on with it. Their expectations of technology are demanding.

  This generation will take to eLearning and will push boundaries. Generation Z doesn't seem to understand the concept of plagiarism — if you don't believe this, ask any secondary school teacher about this issue!

The following list gives a summary of the distinguishing characteristics for digital natives (born 1985 to date):

• Look at graphics first, access text-based media last
• Are play-oriented
• Are always connected
• Multi-task connected to at least one e-vice (electronic device)
• Process things at twitch speed

  Twitch speed thinking (coined by Mark Prensky) is the speed of thinking/processing that is required during video games, action films, and music videos, where viewers are exposed to “more than 100 images a minute.”

• Expect immediate results
• Expect information to come to them or accessible at one click
• Do not read instructions, especially step-by-step outlines, but jump straight in
• Do not process as linearly as previous generations
• Are impatient if technology is not quick enough — find something else to do
• Do not stay with tasks as long
• Trust the medium
• Do not expect things to go wrong

Digital immigrants

The term digital immigrants describes learners and instructors born before 1985. This group has also been more affected with wars, recessions, and changes in the workplace than digital natives. The following list briefly summarizes the subgroups and the impact technology had on them:

• Post-war cohorts (born 1930–1945): This group uses and likes “traditional” forms of reading and learning and tends not to like social media. These learners require and read procedural instructions. They like information written down on paper so they can make sense of it. This is a group that needs encouragement, help, patience, and time. As much as many of these learners resent the new eLearning medium, many can absorb it when challenged to do so.
• Baby Boomers I (born 1946–1954): Born in good economic conditions, this group embraces technology by spending money on new IT consumer products. The learning methods of this group are traditional as for post-war cohorts, and the group is often resentful toward having to change its teaching/learning methods later in life.
• Baby Boomers II (born 1955–1965): This group has taken to technology quicker than expected. Members of this group generally love technology and have surprised the consumer market by taking to social networking much more readily than expected. They blog, read e-zines, and use social networks; however, when asked, they still much prefer to work in paper. Their learning methods are traditional, as with Baby Boomers I, but they see the benefits and needs of eLearning. They aren't as resentful to the changes. This group makes up many teachers, instructors, and academics in the work force today. They've been the driving force behind the development and use of information technology and spend more money on technology than any other group.
• Generation X (born 1966–1976): Seen by researchers as probably the best-educated group, it's also the most skeptical group. Members of this group are pragmatic and practical, embrace social networks, and take to technology quicker than the preceding generations in this category. This group's members are not resentful to change, but instead, expect constant change — this is what they have witnessed and experienced. They've seen most change in the gaming and PC markets. Don't assume that learners in this group have sophisticated eLearning skill — they don't. They have good IT skills, and most likely have some knowledge of eLearning.

In this list, I provide a summary of distinguishing characteristics for digital immigrants (born before 1985):

• Process information in a linear fashion
• Work at conventional speeds
• Like step-by-step instructions
• Read text first and like procedural instructions
• Are work oriented and don't multitask with electronic devices
• Are use to (and like) standalone problems and concepts
• Generally do not take to technology as quickly as digital natives
• Do not expect information to be brought to them but like looking for information
• Do not trust online environments as much and question information more than the digital natives do
• Expect things to go wrong
• Expect constant change
• In the case of the older portion of the group, do not embrace social media
• Also regarding the older portion of the group, need more hand-holding and encouragement