Session 8

Title: Are Millennials Digital Illiterates? Busting the myth about the current cohort of post-secondary students.

Session Description:

Students enter post secondary institutions with a digital literacy delimited by basic school skills and by personal interests. While Millennials collectively use digital technology more intensely than previous generations, generalizations about this digital generation has led to assumptions that are both misleading and problematic for educators. The popular literature portrays the current cohort of post-secondary students as computer literate and technologically savvy. While there is some validity to this, the diversity of learners vis-à-vis their digital literacy has significant implications for our expectations when teaching if we impose group characteristics on individual students.

A study (n = 181) involving the current group of teacher candidates at Brandon University looked at students' usage of various types of digital technologies, their competence with those technologies, and their attitudes towards them. Initials findings in year 1 of a 3-year study raised a concern
regarding Millennials' perceived competency with numerous Web 2.0 applications and their limited repertoire of computer applications.

The data suggests a clustering of their digital competencies into three groups based on:

• computer applications related to student life
• computer applications related to personal interests
• other applications

These findings are in contrast to those promoted in the popular literature about Millenials. Further, the findings suggest some additional correlations between students' major area of study and their use of various computer applications and technologies. The presenters will provide a summary of their data and will lead a discussion / exploration into the implications that the data holds for instructors who expect their students to integrate the use of technology into a program of study.

Presenters: Glenn Cockerline and Mike Nantais

Glenn Cockerline, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, Brandon University. Glenn’s interest centers on areas related to the improvement of instruction. He draws on the wisdom acquired through two decades of diverse classroom teaching assignments in the public school system and a decade working with teachers-in-training. Cockerline’s research is particularly focused on how students acquire the information they are expected to assimilate in their various courses.
 

Mike Nantais, M.Ed., Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education, Brandon University. Previous to this year, Mike has been a public school teacher, ICT Leader, and school administrator for 30 years.

Mike's research interests lie in examining how ICT is transforming the teaching and learning process. He is also interested in Mathematics and Science education, particularly at the Senior High level.