Insta-Student

Technology has altered the attitude and learning style

of the millennial student.
By Autumn A. Arnett

hanging technology and its ubiquity has had the greatest impact on younger generations
of students. The reality is that the more connected, less attentive, and, perhaps, more
entitled students of today are a reflection of the rapidly changing society around them. For
some students, they have never known a world without the Internet.
I do notice a dierence, having taught for 38 years, says James
D. McJunkins, an assistant professor in Clark Atlanta Universitys
Department of Mass Media Arts. Now theres more to distract the
students, and it seems to be more of a challenge.
McJunkins is not alone in his assessment.
Dr. Renae D. Mayes, an assistant professor and director of the
school counseling program at Ball State University, says that while
students creativity and intelligence has not been hindered, work
ethic is suering and students require more hand-holding than
past students have demanded.
Dr. Craig Cameron, a professor of biochemistry and molecular
biology at Penn State University, agrees.
I think weve entered into an era now where just for showing
up you get a reward, and so ... instead of cultivating an individuals
strengths, we are rewarding mediocrity, says Cameron.
Dr. Nicholas Hartlep, an assistant professor of educational
foundations at Illinois State University, says the challenges of social
promotion and grade ination have added a new layer of challenges.

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Students, ironically, get really uncomfortable if they dont get a

high grade, he says.
Hartlep says he believes the changes in attitudes are as much a
shift in the culture of higher education as they are reective of a
generational cultural shift.
As education has become more corporatized and become treated
as a commodity, rather than a process, then the customer, or the
college student who is paying tuition, it becomes almost a sense of
entitlement that the customer is always right, he says.

The microwave generation

With the consumer attitude of entitlement comes an
expectation for instant gratication and a lack of appreciation for
paying dues, says Allissa Richardson, a professor in the
Department of Communications at Bowie State University, adding
that this trend is unique to younger generations of students.
These kids, theyre like, I want to be managers tomorrow, and I
want the most visible persons job. I have to constantly tell them
August 28, 2014 | Diverse 15

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NICHOLAS HARTLEP
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establishing themselves as real-life

individuals, say some
educators.
Youre
fo c us e d
on getting your own
thoughts out, Mayes
says, but you become
all-consumed in you and
you arent connecting
with people in a genuine
way.
Richardson finds
that students also
struggle with a duality
b e t we e n
w ant i ng
instant fame and public
accolades, and shying away from direct
attention.
Its kind of interesting
to see them shrivel,
she says. Its a really
The Teaching and Learning with Technology Group at Penn State University participates in the Learning Design Summer
interesting paradigm
Camp last year.
that they have that they
are masters of creating
[that] theres an internship process youll have to go through; you an online social appearance that is happy and successful, but then
have to do the grunt work. And they kind of frown and look at me when it comes time to try to craft that same kind of presence in a
like, Well, how long is that going to take? she says. They want to career sense, they get very, very nervous and they still need us.
be rich really fast.
One theme repeatedly expressed by some educators is that
Referencing a colleagues phrase that current current students require more of a connection to the content and
students are part of a microwave generation, McJunkins says, assignments.
They like things to happen just like that, they expect to have
The material doesnt change, but students come in now, and
everything right away, and they expect to be able to complete they go, This isnt interesting to me, so its okay if I dont do well
everything right away without much eort.
in it, says Cameron. When I was in college, if you told me I had
Mayes agrees, saying the nature of social media and an online to take general chemistry to nish college, I didnt have to know
culture promote expectations of instant access and immediate exactly why or how I was going to use it. I just did it.
Now, you cant just tell students that this is going to be
satisfaction.
important
moving forward. You have to, right from the beginning,
I think this generation, they all want these really
incredible and great things, but sometimes I nd that what is show them why its important.
lacking with that is [that] they dont realize that you cant just
automatically start o at the top; you have to work, she says. And Educators adjust
it may not be instant gratication and it may not be satisfying, but
Despite the challenges associated with technology and its impact
youve got to work at the ground level, in order to get at the top and on younger generations, educators are still nding ways to connect
stay at the top.
and reach the students they teach.
Shortened attention spans and acclimation to condensed delivery
In order to keep their attention, I think the teaching style has
of information, thanks to the nature of social media news delivery, to change in order to make them appreciate learning, because
means students are also reading less in general. This is having a they have so much information coming at them from so many
profound impact on not only their ability to complete assigned directions, Richardson says.
readings, but their writing ability, says Hartlep.
Hartlep agrees, saying successful college professors in todays
A lot of times, students cant really read, or arent really climate have to learn how to embrace and use technology as a
comfortable reading prolonged readings, because I think learning tool, and not just as a social tool.
Internet reading has kind of altered their reading patterns, Hartlep
There has to be a lot more active engagement in the classroom,
says. We know that to write well, you need to read a lot. So if the says Cameron. We have strategies to incentivize everything, even
patterns are that students are reading less, its no surprise that the reading for class.
quality [of writing] would be reduced signicantly.
Many professors, including Hartlep, are using more video,
One almost counterintuitive consequence of a proliferation of incorporating expert podcasts, and even Skyping experts and guest
technology and social media is that todays students are having lecturers to give students new stimuli during the class session.
a more dicult time with interpersonal communications and Giving students an opportunity to engage online to nd real-time
16 Diverse | August 28, 2014

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information and news has

been a successful tactic as
well.
Richardson and Hartlep both abstain from
lecture-style teaching in
the classroom. For Hartlep, the protected class
time is used more as a
workshop. Richardson
says she loads her lectures online for students to
access at their leisure.
When we come
[into] class, that totally
frees us up to have a
discussion with the
content in a deeper, richer
way, she says.
Cameron says students at Penn State are
mainly taking their
quizzes and exams online,
which frees up several At Illinois State University, Professor Nicholas Hartlep engages his students in Skype-a-scholar sessions to suppleadditional days of instruc- ment class readings. After reviewing a piece in class, the students interact with its author via Skype to ask questions
and discuss the readings.
tional time per semester.
There needs to be a shift
to thinking of ones self as a content provider whose imperative it Leveraging social media
is to make sure there is no dead space in the classroom, he says.
Eighty-six percent of Americans between the ages of 18 to 24
Cameron admits, and most agree, though, that this approach is have social media proles. Given that, it would be troublesome
more time-consuming.
to believe professors are still ignoring not only the impact but the
The amount of preparation and lead time that you need to potential value of social media.
Most students are primarily reading news online, but many have
deliver a course well is much greater than it used to be, says
shifted from default news sites like CNN.com to Twitter to discern
Cameron.
Cameron and his colleagues have started using clickers to the news of the day.
Undeniably, trying to ght a battle against social media, and
allow students to answer questions in real time, which not only
keeps students engaged, but gives him the ability to assess their technology in general, will prove unfruitful. So many professors
are nding ways to leverage the media to enrich their lessons and
understanding of the material in the present.
Richardson says that it is also imperative to connect with engage their students.
I have always been on Twitter and I encourage my students
students on their level. Saying she binge watches TV during breaks
from school to stay attuned to what students are seeing and talking to use it, says Mayes. Part of their class participation [requireabout, Richardson advises, Those cultural reference points can ments are] to tweet, either tweet about what theyre learning in the
classroom or tweet resources to each other.
help them learn, if we use those examples in class.
Richardson says she has begun using social media in lesson
Sometimes my students will come in, and theyll be like, Did
you see so-and-so on Love & Hip Hop was pregnant? And Im like, plans. Sometimes, she says, she will show students a relevant
I dont even know what that show is, but I cant say that, because picture and ask them to create hashtags or memes that relate to the
course content. Memes, she says, provide an excellent opportunity
Ill lose my credibility, so Im just like, Tell me more!
That also engages them to let them know, Hey, I care about to teach satire as a learning tool.
I engage them by putting them in the drivers seat, saying this
what you care about, if its going to help you learn, she says.
In some cases, Cameron says, adding peer-level learning is what were going to discuss today, youre going to nd whats
assistants has helped to bridge the gap and help students relate relevant and Im going to tell you what to do with it, Richardson
continues.
better to the material.
But despite the fact that technology and social media, for many
I think these questions of millennials its kind of an age-old
students,
are native platforms, this does not mean students are
question that people before us have asked. I think when we drum
necessarily
the best drivers.
around deeper, its not as big of an issue as we think it is, says
They
still
very much need us to tell them, This is how you
Hartlep. Were all human, for the most part; we havent evolved
or changed all that much. ... I think that they might be engaged dene yourself in the world. This is how you do it in a way that is
meaningful, in a way that wont embarrass yourself and live forever
dierently, but theyre still kids, theyre still students.
online, and in a way that is of service to others, says Richardson. D
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August 28, 2014 | Diverse 17

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