ELI Web Seminar, May 7, 2007 1:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. CT, 11:00 a.m. MT, 10:00 a.m. PT); runs one hour

A Net Gen Student Perspective: Technology in Higher Education

Special Student Panel Guests

Jared Lang "Why is the Internet in my computer? Why can't it also be in my pocket?"	Age	23	What's the one thing the university could change for you? Improve the registration process. There should be a more elegant way to sign up for required courses and electives.
	Generation	Millennial
	Major	Computer Science
	Degree	Bachelor of Science
	Interests	Programming, math, physics
	Responsibilities	School, job
	Quirks	"I sometimes render the box model improperly."
	Phrase	"I don't have a phrase!"
	TV shows	House (currently), Arrested Development (past)
	Music	Kid Koala, Ben Folds, Metric
	Books	Culture Jam
	Video games	Waiting for Spore
	Web pages	Reddit

Jessica Vargas "Technology provides me with the means to express myself artistically and academically."	Age	25	What's the one thing the university could change for you? I want a universal standard developed for search engines. Every engine shouldn't have a completely unique way for trying to gather information.
	Generation	Millennial
	Major	History, Instructional Technology/Instructional Systems
	Degree	Master of Arts
	Interests	Painting, photography, video games
	Responsibilities	Part-time student, part-time job, two cats
	Quirks	"I've been classified as an overachiever; however, I find that as I grow older, I've become much more selective about what I achieve at."
	Phrase	"Cool beans."
	TV shows	"If it wasn't for DVR, I'd never watch a single show."
	Music	Mika, Lily Allen, Between the Buried and Me, All That Remains
	Books	Harry Potter, the Redwall series, Ayn Rand's Anthem and The Fountainhead
	Video games	Final Fantasy Series
	Web pages	Web Creme, New York Times, Wikipedia

Chris Conover "Technology is a valuable tool that can be used to enhance our lives, especially by simplifying complex ideas and constructs. The reason why technology is important to learning is because learning is based on this simplification process."	Age	20	What's the one thing the university could change for you? Convergence —condense everything into one or two intuitive, manageable systems customized for our unique student body. Don't rely so heavily on monolithic, black-box packages.
	Generation	Millennial
	Major	Information Technology
	Degree	Bachelor of Science
	Interests	Movies, science fiction, philosophy, computer programming
	Responsibilities	Full-time student, part-time job
	Quirks	"I hate when people yell. If something can't be discussed calmly, it's not worth discussing."
	Phrase	"Be the change that you want to see in the world." —Mohandas Gandhi
	TV shows	Scrubs
	Music	Smashing Pumpkins, System of a Down
	Books	Authors Roger Zelazny, Joe Haldeman, and Philip K. Dick
	Video games	Final Fantasy XI
	Web pages	Slashdot, Wikipedia, Reddit

Summary

EDUCAUSE Vice President Diana Oblinger will be joined by Joel Hartman, vice provost for information technologies and resources at the University of Central Florida, in moderating a student conversation about the Net Gen perspective on teaching, learning, and technology:

University of Central Florida students Jared Lang and Jessica Vargas will discuss how Net Gen students use technology inside and outside the classroom. They will focus on various social networking tools, Web 2.0 applications, and information fluency issues. Fellow student Christopher Conover will provide technical assistance as they review different Web sites to illustrate their points.

Related EDUCAUSE Resources

• Discussion questions [DOC 31 KB] and presentation slides [PDF 140 MB] for the seminar
• Carie Windham, "The Student's Perspective," in Educating the Net Generation, Diana G. Oblinger and James L. Oblinger, eds. (Boulder, Colo.: EDUCAUSE, 2005).
• Richard Van Eck, "Generation G and the 21st Century," ELI 2007 Spring Focus Session: Immersive Learning Environments—New Paths to Interaction and Engagement, March 2007. (See also the 2007 spring focus session proceedings.)
• ELI Net Generation Learners Topic Page

Additional Resources

• Technology from the Students' Perspective (A video of University of Central Florida students describing how they view technology and their learning preferences)
• If Higher Education Listened to Me (A video of University of Central Florida students discussing their views on teaching, learning, and technology)