NORTHFIELD, Minn., Nov. 9, 2006 - Robert Cooke, director of the middle school at Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul, is astounded by what his students are doing these days. For a project on immigration, seventh-graders not only read library books and researched anti-immigration legislation on Internet sites, they also developed their own immigration stories, interviewed their oldest living family members, and turned their findings into podcasts and posted them online. “One student’s grandparents in India listened to his podcast, bringing the project full circle,” Cooke says.

Impressive, yes. Atypical, no. The students at Mounds Park are at the tail end of the Net Generation. Born between roughly 1982 and 1994, members of the Net Generation, also known as Millennials, are tech savvy, constantly connected to each other through e-mail and cell phones, highly visual, and expert at multitasking.

If Net Gen students are recording podcasts in middle school, imagine what their educational demands will be by the time they enter college. Carleton College’s administrators, faculty, librarians, and information technology staff already have an inkling, because the leading edge of this generation has graduated from the college over the past few years.

“Students are coming to us having spent lots of time on different things than we did,” says Elizabeth Ciner, associate dean of the College. For instance, studies show that the average 21-year-old has spent 10,000 hours playing video games and 5,000 hours reading.

“We have to ask, ‘What skill sets does a person gain from playing video games?’“ Ciner says. “We need to take questions like this seriously, because it could make a difference in classes and how they’re taught.”

“It’s not a slacker generation,” says Chico Zimmerman, professor of classical languages and coordinator of the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching. “They’re energetic and eager, and the students we’re getting are fabulous. That they’re technologically fearless is a bonus.”

WHO ARE THEY?

“The Net Gen feels there’s nothing they can’t do,” says Diana Oblinger, vice president of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming education through the intelligent use of technology. Last spring, Oblinger spoke with Carleton’s faculty and staff about the Net Generation learner and highlighted implications for higher education.

“We used to joke that these kids may be wired differently than we are,” Oblinger says. “It may not be a joke.” She’s fascinated with the concept of neuroplasticity, which says that what you’re exposed to actually changes the physical way you process information.

What has this generation been exposed to? Countless hours in front of a video screen, television screen, or electronic game. Sure, baby boomers watched television, but this is different. Today’s college seniors were born in the years immediately following the introduction of the personal computer, and 20 percent began using computers between ages five and eight. Their younger siblings were clicking a mouse even earlier. “Information technology is so woven into their lives that they don’t even think of it as technology,” Oblinger says.

“Our high schoolers definitely are connected to each other—e-mailing, IMing [instant messaging], and everyone seems to have a MySpace page, or wants one,” says Cooke. “But they’re also eager for a greater depth of knowledge, and they want it to appeal to more of their senses. They like to learn in ways that take advantage of the technology that is available to them.”

He adds that his middle school students “just aren’t as interested in hearing a spellbinding lecture, even by me. They still find stories spellbinding, but now they want to browse images from the Smithsonian, view maps, and listen to music that tells even more of the story. So that’s what we do as teachers—keep up with the kinds of learning they prefer and bring in the resources. Lectures have become jewels sprinkled throughout the year, just one of our tools.”

Fred Gauna ‘95 has been interacting with the Net Generation for more than six years, but in a different educational venue— Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, where he’s an animal education program instructor.

“With resources like the Internet, the Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet, kids coming to our programs already know the basics—and even details—of the animals we’re showcasing,” he says. “It makes them harder to impress. But it also lets us go into greater depth.”

Gauna adds that because kids are more tech savvy, he uses lots of gadgets in his presentations—everything from PowerPoint to computer simulations to night-vision goggles—to capture their attention and broaden the learning experience.

TAKING TECH TO HEART

While Carleton faculty members might not routinely use night-vision goggles in their classes, they have taken technology to heart.

“Ten years ago we were just beginning to use the Internet,” says Tricia Ferrett, professor of chemistry and director of the Carleton Interdisciplinary Science and Math Initiative (CISMI), a broad initiative aimed at integrative and interdisciplinary learning. “Today, students are inclined to go to the Internet for everything. It’s transformed my teaching.”

Now Ferrett is engaging students in the process of mining the enormously rich data sources that are available and helping them generate meaning from the data. But she also pushes them beyond the Net. “Some students naively believe that all information is there, but there’s still a lot of science in books that aren’t on the Internet,” she says.

For a climate-change project, Ferrett limited Internet-based research and required students to use one article from original scientific literature and at least one book as sources. She also encourages students to talk with her: “I tell them I’m their scientific consultant.”

It’s challenging to keep up with advances in technology and research and how she can bring them to bear on her teaching. “I go to workshops, I participate in several consortia, and I talk with my colleagues,” she says.

There’s a wealth of resources at Carleton to help faculty members best present their curriculum for this generation of learners. For instance, Ann Zawistoski, science librarian, and Kristin Partlo, reference and instruction librarian for social sciences, recently taught a workshop called “Start Seeing Numbers.”

“Because they’re more visual, students are becoming critical readers of visuals,” Zawistoski says. “The workshop was designed to help faculty members think about how they could visually represent numbers to make their points stronger.” Among the tools presented were GIS (geographic information system) mapping software, tips for the effective use of Microsoft Xcel for data visualization, and pointers on designing clear charts and graphs.

And then there’s Moodle, a secure, one-stop online (http://moodle.carleton.edu) course-management system that the faculty can use to take the muddle out of organizing coursework for students. Paper syllabus? Handing in hard-copy papers? Not anymore. With the turn of an electronic “enrollment key,” students have access to all the materials faculty members used to hand out—and more.

“With Moodle, everything for a class is in one place online, including the syllabus, assignments, resource materials, even course discussions,” says Zimmerman. “Let’s say we’re studying the oral singing tradition in Homer. I can archive Yugoslavian bards singing epic poems. Students can post their responses, and then we’ll talk in class about their reaction.”

RESOURCES FOR NET GEN LEARNERS

Assignments in the syllabus eventually will lead students to Gould Library, where a host of services—along with hip techie reference librarians—await to help them do research and present their findings.

“We have a plugged-in staff; they’re smart about adapting and deploying the technologies students want to use,” says Eric Hinsdale, library technology coordinator. “Podcasts are big now, but six months from now that could be different, and we need to be able to support the next new thing. It’s exciting for us in the library world. There are so many more ways we can contribute to students’ learning.”

Heather Tompkins, reference and instruction librarian for humanities and government documents, adds that the staff likes to experiment with new tools and discover how they can be applied to students’ assignments. For instance, she’s been checking out a family of Web feed formats called RSS, which deliver Web content summaries and links pertaining to the subject you choose. “RSS feeds from places like the U.S. Census Bureau or a news site could help students with their research,” she says.

Plugged-in staff members and students need a plugged-in work space, and they have it in the library’s new Research/IT Desk. It’s an area designed with the needs of Net Gen learners in mind. In it they’ll find flexible seating: Chairs with wheels facilitate informal groupings, and high-backed sectional furniture gives students working together some privacy. Also available are wireless access points, lots of room for laptops, PCs and Macs with flat-panel LCD monitors, and a smart board. Connected to the computer network, the smart board is a large, wall-mounted flat-panel display with a protective overlay that allows students to write with “digital ink” using fingers or special sensors. Students can save their work to print or e-mail or can post it online for computerized collaboration.

“In Research/IT, not only do we provide reference support, we also help with presentation and technology needs,” Tompkins says. Side by side with the reference librarians are student-computing workers, an arrangement that appeals to Net Gen students’ desire to interact with and learn from their peers.

But since this generation is highly connected, they can access a virtual library as well. If they’re working on a project in Goodsell Observatory, no problem—just instant-message a reference librarian. Or take eReserves. Remember when a professor would put material on reserve and you’d have to dash to the library to read it? Now that material is “reserved” online, available to students at any time.

Beyond the library, Carleton has begun adapting the traditional classroom to better fit the tech-intensive and interactive learning and teaching styles of students and faculty members. Jim Pierret, presentation technologies coordinator, serves on a committee that’s examining current classrooms and where they need to go in the future.

“Eighty percent of our classrooms have projection systems with a 100-inch diagonal screen and at least one computer and DVD/VCR player,” he says. “Flexibility is the key, so tablet armchairs, which can be rearranged, are the preferred seating to create circular discussion areas or small groups.”

NET GEN CHALLENGES

So is there a “dark” side to the Net Generation? Not really. But Oblinger, as well as Carleton faculty and staff members, does point out some challenges.

“The Net Generation craves interactivity,” Oblinger says. “And the rapid pace with which they like to receive information means they often choose not to pay attention if a class is not interactive, is not engaging enough, or is simply too slow. They may need to be encouraged to stop experiencing and spend time reflecting.”

Ferrett says, “We live in fast times, and students expect to get quick answers. Some students need to be pushed to study one thing thoroughly and know it well, to engage in deep learning.” She adds that students may lack information literacy: “They don’t always ask questions about the quality of the source and the reliability of the information. That’s something I have to help them learn.”

When it comes to information, Oblinger raises a warning flag, too: “As students gather information, it’s easy for them to assume that if they found it on the Internet, it’s free and they can use it at will. They need to be educated about intellectual property rights.” Tompkins says the library staff recognizes this, pointing students to Web links that show how to cite sources and to workshops on how to document words and images.

Joann Martyn, academic computing coordinator for arts, performance, and recreation, says she’s heard this generation described as being in a “constant state of partial attention. They’re so used to IMing, texting on a cell phone, and talking with friends in person while they’re working on a paper that we think, ÔHow can they work that way?’ And their response would be, ‘How can we work any other way?’”

Multitasking is a necessity, says Zimmerman, but one that needs a little guidance. “These students are hypercommitted. But that was a problem even before computers. Carleton students, in particular, want to do it all,” he says. “They need the efficiency that technology provides, but it’s still a matter of teaching them time-management skills.”

Ciner points out that while Carleton “has become more intentional about the need for students to work together, putting people into a group is not sufficient for more learning to take place. You have to direct it to maximize its potential.

“We might be in an era of revolutionary change. But there’s no point wasting time considering whether it’s good or bad,” Ciner says. “Our job is to educate the kids who are in front of us.”