engaging your “digital native” learner: strategies for educators

Engaging your “Digital Native”

Learner:

Strategies for Educators

Your team of immigrant workshop leaders:

• Michelle Lin

• Brad Monash

• Gail Persily

• Sandrijn van Schaik

• Evans Whitaker

Ice Breakers

• What do you think when you hear the term “millennial learner”?

and/or

• What would you like to learn from this workshop?

http://bit.ly/ZoZWtZ

Objectives

• Describe how the millennial generation approaches learning. 

• Employ technologies and other strategies to engage learners

• Generate ideas for tech-based approaches to stimulate ongoing learning & information sharing 

Workshop outline

• What’s the problem?

o The issues, terminology and (some) data

• What strategies exist?

o Overview and exercises

Why should you care?

•  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&feature=player_detailpage 

Digital Native

• Born after 1980

• First generation to grow up with current technology

• Native speakers of the language of computers, video games, cell phones

Before entering college

• > 250,000 emails

• >10,000 hours talking on cell phones

• >10,000 hours of playing video games

• >20,000 hours watching TV

Millenials

Some Debate

Millennials/digital natives have different learning styles and preferences; therefore require a different approach to education

“Academic form of moral panic” - many

generalizations and no data to suggest that academic outcomes

suffer with current approaches

But (limited) data does suggest....

http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Understanding+Digital+Children+-+Ian+Jukes

http://tinyurl.com/c9vbqa4

Millennial quizzees

Strategies to Engage our Learners

• Avoid “death by PowerPoint”• Attract attention with audience

response systems

• Hijack social media to extend the conversation

• Construct knowledge with shared documents

Twitter:The Digital Watercooler

• Listen to discussions

• Explore suggested resources (websites, Pubmed links)

• Share your own insights

Twitter:Get an account

A Twitter conversation:

NG tubes and upper GI bleed

Twitter: Tips for success1. Create an account.

2. Post only work-related content.

3. Avoid info overload: Follow only 5 people.

4. Build daily habit of checking Twitter feed.

5. Engagement: After lurking for at least 1 week, respond to a tweet.

6. Organically grow your Twitter network.

Audience Response Systems (ARS) – Why?

• Engaging

• Interaction• In-class checks

• Comprehension

• Assessments – needs, formative, and summative

ARS – Why not?

• Distracting

• Learning curve

• More technology to fail

• Can be over-used

ARS – How?

ARS Tips

• Tipso Pedagogy first!o Plan ahead

• Test • Redundancy• Have a back-up plan

o < 3-4 questions/houro Allow 1-2 minutes for each questiono Be creative (e.g., game style)