Net Gen Students: Learning, Technology and Libraries

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Net Gen StudentsLearning, Technology and
Libraries

• Joan K. Lippincott, Coalition for Networked
  Information
• JISC/CNI Conference July 7, 2006

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Net Gen Students

• Born 1982-1991
• Grew up with computers and other media at home
  and in school from earliest ages
• Never were tethered to communication in a place

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Other Names

• Millennials
• Digital Natives
• Gen Y
• Gen Next
• DotNets (Pew Internet American Life)

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Characteristics of Net Gen Students

• Always connected, multi-tasking
• Oriented to working in groups
• Experiential learners
• Visual
• Producers as well as consumers

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Pew Internet American Life

• Students are disproportionately likely to be
  (Internet) content creators
• Content Creation Online, 2004

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How They Engage with Learning
James Hilton, writing about his sons Leonardo da
Vinci project As we worked together (on a
Powerpoint), the thing that surprised me was how
deeply he connected with the project. He asked
enthusiastically How can I find another
picture? How can I say something more here?He
connected with Leo in ways that had not
happened before and in ways that too rarely
happen in the college classes I teach. I am
simply not finding ways to take advantage of
rip, mix, and burn, Nor are we in higher
education embracing the potential for
unbundling the ways we thing about scholarship -
not just for student assignments but for all
kinds of scholarship. EDUCAUSE Review
March/April 2006
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Producers of Information for the Global Community
Blogging is an opportunity to exchange our
points of view with the rest of the world, not
just people in our immediate environment. 5th
grade Quebec student quoted by Downes, EDUCAUSE
Review 2004
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Net Gen and Traditional Learning
Net Gen Students
Traditional Learning Libraries

• Text-based
• Learn from experts
• Individually based
• Logical, linear

• Multi-media
• Figure it out
• Work in groups
• Multi-task

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Its About More than Style
Its about learning
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New Relationships

• Academic/Social
• Virtual/Physical
• Learners/Teachers/Librarians

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Blending In-person and Virtual
"Social networking sites like The Facebook are
quickly blurring the line between online and
real-world interactions. While most adults still
separate their virtual existence from their
real-world lives, college kids are increasingly
living in both worlds at once. Erika Lewis,
Carleton College student from her Podcast script
for a class "We Media The Personal Media
Revolution http//www.people.carleton.edu/lewise
r/PodcastScript.htm
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New Ways of Thinking about Teachers and Learners
We strive to stay ahead of the technology curve
in ways that often exhaust older generations.
This drive to keep pace with current trends is
not fueled by societys ability to educate and
teach these technologies. Instead, we are a
generation of learners by exploration. Carrie
Windham, student, Educating the Net Gen
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Implications for Resources and Services

• Preparing students to become information
  producers
• Service styles
• New spaces

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Preparing students to become information producers

• New modes of scholarly communication
• New research tools

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U. Virginia Valley of the Shadow
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Cold War Timeline atSanta Clara University
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Article in Vectorshttp//vectors.iml.annenberg.ed
u/
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USC Student Project
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NCSA Evolution Highway Genome Project
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Data for Visualization
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GMU History Tools
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iSpecies.org (R.Page, U. Glasgow)
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New service styles

• Social networking
• Personalization
• Education - new emphases
• New forms of service delivery

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Facilitating new communities
Since we know that students are spending more
time in social networking environments like
MySpace and Facebook, building complex
communities and sharing musings and opinions on
everythinglets form a partnership with one
of those companies to build a networking space
focusing on the information needs of students.
Such a site could enable dialogue and
collaboration among its users, discussion
of readings, and creation of multimedia class
projects. Kate Wittenberg, CHE, June 16, 2006
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UIUC Undergrad Library Facebook
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Brooklyn College Library MySpace
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PennTags Social Bookmarking
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Who is teaching your students about

• Statistical analysis software
• GIS software
• Multi-media software
• Visualization
• Use of digital libraries
• Use of large scientific data sets
• Information standards and preservation
• Policy issues related to information and
  technology

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Educating Students about Information
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New Service Styles

• New ways of accessing information
• Student-oriented services
• Blending virtual and physical services

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Visual representations of information
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U. Minnesota Undergrad Page
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UPenn Business FAQ
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bioLIBlog and Biology Night at the Library at U.
Tennessee
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New spaces

• Information commons
• Multi-media studios
• Group areas
• Informal spaces and cafes

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Libraries that fit student lifestyles

• Thinking of your information needs and lifestyle,
  which fits perfectly with your lifestyle?
• 64 Search engines
• 30 Online library
• 24 Library
• From OCLC College Students Perceptions of
  Libraries and Information Resources

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Learning Grid U. Warwick
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Dartmouth Library
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Vassar Media Cloisters
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Georgia TechPractice Presentation Room
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Glasgow Caledonian University
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U. Georgia Student Learning Center
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Indiana U. Information Commons
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Accomplishing change

• Hiring/training new types of staff
• Reverse mentoring
• Working in teams with students
• Experimenting, piloting
• Adopting, adapting
• Doing research, assessment
• Letting go

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Understanding Todays Students
For as I read through article after article on
the topic of academic librarianship, the
prominent message is that todays college
students are lazy, procrastinating, plagiarizing
patrons of the glut of information that has come
to be known as the Internet. Christen Thompson,
portal, 2003
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Or.Should We Shift Gears
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The Net Gen Are Our Future

• Assist students with making the transition from
  the recreational use of technology to academic
  use of technology
• Provide environments, physical and virtual, which
  engage students
• Promote creativity in students
  discipline-related work

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Further Information

• Contact Joan Lippincott joan_at_cni.org
• Net Generation Students and Libraries,
  Educating the Net Gen, an EDUCAUSE e-Book, 2005.
  www.educause.edu/eli
• http//www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666IDp
  ub7101