Are 'Net Generation' learners really technologically-savvy multitaskers who live and breathe digital technology? The LTC aims to find out.

The Learning and Teaching Centre has launched an international research project aimed at understanding how new and emerging technologies are affecting learning and teaching in higher education. 

Digital Learners in Higher Education: Implications for Teaching, Learning & Technology brings together BCIT, the University of Regina and the Open University of Catalonia in Barcelona. The research project will build on an already completed study that surveyed BCIT learners to determine the extent to which they fit the “Internet generation” profile and to understand their communication preferences outside the classroom.

The results of this study contradicted the prevailing view of Net Generation learners as being technologically-savvy multitaskers who live and breathe digital technology and favor teamwork and collaboration. (Definitions of the Net Generation—also known as Generation Y, or the Millenials—vary but generally the term refers to people born after 1982, which is the date this study used.) The study found that, for the most part, there were no significant differences between Net Generation and non-Net Generation learners at BCIT in terms of their preferences and use of technology and their learning characteristics.

The international research project will extend this work to two different higher education contexts and will explore in more depth what impact new technologies are having on learning and teaching in higher education.

According to Dr. Mark Bullen, Associate Dean of the Learning and Teaching Centre and research project director, the study breaks new ground by challenging many of the untested assumptions about the Net Generation: “The educational community has accepted without question the claims of pundits and futurists about the Net Generation. There is no question that the new technologies are having an impact but our research and other research is showing that this is a much more complex issue that needs serious investigation before we make costly decisions.” Mark says the project will have direct, practical benefits for BCIT by using BCIT data to develop evidence-based policy and practice guidelines related to teaching, learning and technology.

Dr. Tannis Morgan from the Learning and Teaching Centre is the principal researcher and project manager for BCIT. She will be working with colleagues from the University of Regina and the Open University of Catalonia. “The value of a study such as this one is that it allows a large institution such as BCIT, represented by a range of programs, delivery methods, and diversity of students, to make more informed pedagogical and learning environment design decisions,” says Tannis. “The considerable interest by national and international higher education institutions in our research reflects a desire by many educators to gain a more nuanced understanding of our learners as the educational and technological worlds continue to converge”.

For more information about this study, visit the research project website. The website will be updated regularly with progress reports, publications and resources.

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