Is It Age or IT: First Steps Toward Understanding the Net Generation

跟年纪有关还是跟技术有关：了解网络时代的第一步

Diana Oblinger

戴安娜·欧布灵格

EDUCAUSE

James Oblinger

詹姆斯·欧布灵格

North Carolina State University

北卡罗莱纳州立大学

Introduction

介绍

A
junior at the university, Eric wakes up and peers at his PC to see how
many instant messages (IMs) arrived while he slept. Several attempts to
reach him are visible on the screen, along with various postings to the
blog he's been following. After a quick trip to the shower, he pulls up
an eclectic mix of news, weather, and sports on the home page he
customized using Yahoo. He then logs on to his campus account. A
reminder pops up indicating that there will be a quiz in sociology
today; another reminder lets him know that a lab report needs to be
e-mailed to his chemistry professor by midnight. After a few quick IMs
with friends he pulls up a wiki to review progress a teammate has made
on a project they're doing for their computer science class. He
downloads yesterday's chemistry lecture to his laptop; he'll review it
while he sits with a group of students in the student union working on
other projects. After classes are over he has to go to the library
because he can't find an online resource he needs for a project. He
rarely goes to the library to check out books; usually he uses Google
or Wikipedia. Late that night as he's working on his term paper, he
switches back and forth between the paper and the Internet-based
multiplayer game he's trying to win.¹

大学新生，埃里克早上一起来就盯着计算机查看在他睡觉期间收到多少即时消息（IM）。其中一些重要的已经显示在屏幕上，同时还有他一直关注的各种日志的新帖子。快速冲个澡，然后翻阅雅虎自定义首页上新闻、天气、体育信息混搭。接下来登录学校帐号。弹出提示，今天会有一场社会学测试。另一项提示告诉他，在午夜之前要把实验报告寄给化学教授。和朋友简短聊了几句之后，他打开一份维基，审查计算机科学课程研究项目队友的进度。他把昨天的化学讲义下载到笔电上，他会做复习，同时和学生会其他项目的一队学生坐在一起。下课之后他要去图书馆，因为他找不到项目需要的在线资源。他很少去图书馆借书，通常都是用谷歌或者维基百科。夜深了，他还在写学期论文，他在论文与多人网络游戏之间来回切换，他很想赢。【1】

Information
technology is woven throughout Eric's life, but he probably doesn't
think of it as technology. One generation's technology is taken for
granted by the next. Computers, the Internet, online resources, and
instantaneous access are simply the way things are done. Eric is a
member of the Net Generation; he's never known life without the
Internet.

信息技术已经交织在埃里克的生活中，他或许都不把它当成技术了。一代人视为技术的，到了下一代就视为理所当然。计算机、互联网、在线资源、实时获取，让事情变得很简单。埃里克是网络世代的一员，他无从了解没有互联网的生活。

Children and Teenagers

青少年

Today's Net Gen college
students have grown up with technology. Born around the time the PC was
introduced, 20 percent began using computers between the ages of 5 and
8. Virtually all Net Gen students were using computers by the time they
were 16 to 18 years of age.²
Computer usage is even higher among today's children. Among children
ages 8 to 18, 96 percent have gone online. Seventy-four percent have
access at home, and 61 percent use the Internet on a typical day.

今日的网络世代大学生是伴随技术成长起来的一代。普及个人计算机时出生，有百分之二十爱舞蹈八岁就开始使用计算机。实际上整个网络世代学生，到十六到十八岁的时候就已经全都用上计算机了。在现在的儿童当中，计算机的使用率甚至更高。在八到十八岁儿童当中，百分之九十六都上过网。百分之七十四在家上网，百分之六十一利用互联网度过一整天。

Exposure
to IT begins at very young ages. Children age six or younger spend an
average of two hours each day using screen media (TV, videos,
computers, video games), which nearly equals the amount of time they
spend playing outside (1:58 hours versus 2:01 hours). Both
significantly exceed the amount of reading time (39 minutes). Half of
the children in this age group have used a computer; among
4-to-6-year-olds, 27 percent spend over an hour a day (1:04) at the
keyboard. "It's not just teenagers who are wired up and tuned in, it's
babies in diapers as well." While earlier generations were introduced
to information through print, this generation takes a digital path.³

他们在很小的时候就开始接触信息技术。不到六岁的孩子每天平均花费两个小时面对屏幕（电视、录像、计算机、游戏），这与他们在户外玩耍的时间总和非常接近（一小时五十八分对两小时零一分）。两者都大幅超过阅读的时间（三十九分钟）。这个年龄段的半数儿童都用过计算机，在四到六岁之间的儿童，百分之二十七每天花费超过一个小时（一小时零四分钟）敲打键盘。“不仅仅是青少年连线上网，襁褓中的婴儿也是如此。”曾经，前几代人都是通过印刷获得信息，但是现在一代是通过数码的途径。

Home
digital media use (computer, games, Internet) is approaching the amount
of time spent watching TV. Thirteen-to-17-year-olds average 3.1 hours a
day watching TV and 3.5 hours with digital media. Note that students
may use more than one medium at a time. Consistent with the
multitasking found in older students, it is the norm for children and
teenagers to be online while simultaneously watching TV, talking on the
phone, or listening to the radio. A sizable percentage of kids report
visiting a site mentioned by someone on the phone, seen on TV, or
mentioned on the radio.⁴

花在家庭数码媒体（计算机、游戏机、互联网）上的时间正在逼近电视。十三到十七岁的孩子，平均每天看电视3.1小时，使用数码媒体3.5小时。注意，孩子们可以同一时间同时使用好几种媒体。这与发现更年长学生使用多任务能力相一致，正常青少年都能在上网的同时看电视、聊电话、听广播。相当比例的儿童报告称，可以一边浏览电话中某人提及的网站，一边看电视或者谈论正在听的广播。

Children
may be developing greater digital literacy than siblings who are just a
few years older. For example, over two million American children (ages
6 - -17) have their own Web site. Girls are more likely to have a Web site
than boys (12.2 percent versus 8.6 percent).⁵ And, the ability to use nontext expression - audio, video, graphics - appears stronger in each successive cohort.

儿童能比稍长几岁的兄弟姐妹发展出更强大的数码能力。比如，超过两百万美国儿童（六至十七岁）有自己的网站。女孩比男孩更有可能拥有网站（12.2%比8.6%）。同时使用非文本表达——音频、视频、图像——的能力似乎在持续增强。

Access
to computers for the majority of children and teens is through the
home. However, home access to technology is not uniform across
populations. One possible variable is race. Ninety-six percent of
whites report they have gone online, compared to 95 percent for
Hispanics, and 92 percent for African-Americans (ages 8 - 18). The
figures are similar (within two percentage points) when making
comparisons based on parental education or median family income. When
considering Internet access at home the differences are greater (80
percent for whites, 67 percent for Hispanics, and 67 percent for
African-Americans). For children whose parents have a high school
education or less, 68 percent have Internet access at home. This
contrasts with 82 percent for those whose parents completed college.
The distribution based on median family income is similar: 84 percent
of families with incomes over $50,000 have Internet access at home; for
those making less than $35,000, the percentage is 66.⁶

大多数少年儿童都是在家使用计算机。然而，民众的技术水平并不均衡。一种可能因素就是种族。百分之九十六的白人青少年报告他们上过网，相比之下，西班牙裔是百分之九十五，非裔美国人是百分之九十二（年龄在八至十八岁）。按照父母受教育程度或家庭主要收入进行比较的话，数字很接近（在两个百分点之内）。但考虑到在家上网的话，差别就变大了（白人百分之八十，西班牙裔百分之六十七，非裔美国人百分之六十七）。家长受过高中或以下教育的孩子，百分之六十八在家上网。对应的，家长完成大专学业的，百分之八十二的孩子在家上网。家庭主要收入的分配都一样：年收入超过五万美元的家庭百分之八十四在家上网，那些收入少于三万五的，这个比例为百分之六十六。

Whether
or not students have access to computers and the Internet from home,
they consider such access important. When high school students were
asked why technology is essential to their education, responses
included:

无论学生是否有机会在家接触计算机和网络，他们都认为在家上网很重要。当问及高中生为什么在他们的教学中，技术是必不可少的，回答包括：

It's part of our world.

技术是我们世界的一部分。

Technology is so embedded in our society, it'd be hard not to know how to use it.

技术已经完全融入我们的社会，不用学都会知道如何使用。

It's really helpful - it makes things faster.

技术真的很有用——它能让事情更快捷。

Abstract concepts are often easier to grasp when technology is used effectively as a teaching tool.

把技术用作有效教具，就很容易掌握抽象概念了。

Some students at my school who weren't great students are better ones now thanks to computers.

我们学校有些学生，以前不是好学生，现在好多了，这得谢谢计算机。

Technology allows us to learn as much as we want to about virtually any topic.

技术可以让我们学习任何我们想学的课题。

I usually connect with friends either to get help or to help others.⁷

我通常只和朋友联系，彼此帮助。

By
the teenage years, students use the Web extensively for school research
(94 percent) and believe it helps with schoolwork (78 percent).⁸ Although technology is used heavily, students seem to keep technology in perspective. In their words:

在青少年时期，学生将网络广泛用于学校研究（百分之九十四），相信这有助于课业（百分之七十八）。虽然频繁使用技术，但学生们似乎能正确对待技术。他们这么说：

Teachers are vital to the learning process. Tech is good, but it is not a perfect substitute.

学习过程教师必不可少。技术很好，但不能完美替代教师。

Computers can never replace humans.

计算机永远不能替代人类。

Learning is based on motivation, and without teachers that motivation would cease to exist.

学习必须激励，离开教师，激励也不复存在。

A
major part of school is building social skills. If we were to always
communicate through technology and not in person, then the way we would
view life would change dramatically.⁹

学校的主要作用是建立社交技能。如果我们永远通过技术进行交流，而不是人，那么我们看待生活的方式会发生重大变化。

Perhaps
because home computers and the Internet have become almost as prevalent
as the telephone, instant messaging is a common communication and
socializing mechanism. Not only is IM accessible, it can support
multiple, simultaneous conversations. Seventy percent of teenagers use
IM to keep in touch, slightly less than those who use e-mail to stay in
touch with friends and relatives (81 percent). Still, nearly 13 million
teenagers use IM. "Talking to buddies online has become the information
age way for teens to hang out and beat boredom."¹⁰
A separate study found that 74 percent of teenagers use IM as a major
communication tool compared to 44 percent of online adults.¹¹
Once they leave for college many will use IM to stay in
touch - oftentimes daily - with high school and childhood friends.
Forty-one percent of teenagers indicate they use e-mail and instant
messaging to contact teachers or schoolmates about class work. Greater
than half (56 percent) prefer the Internet to the telephone.¹² In fact, students in grade 7 - 12 know more screen names than home phone numbers.¹³

也许是因为家庭计算机和网络已经向电话一样普及，即时通讯已经成为常见的沟通和交往手段。不仅是因为即时通讯方便，还因为它支持同时多人交谈。百分之七十的青少年使用即时通讯保持联系，略少于使用电子邮件与亲朋好友保持联系的（百分之八十一）。尽管如此，仍有一千三百万青少年使用即时通讯。“与伙伴在线交谈，已经成为青少年泡网打发无聊的信息化途径。”另一项研究发现，百分之七十四的青少年将即时通讯作为主要联络工具，相比之下，网上只有百分之四十四的成年人这样做。他们上大学后，多数仍然使用即时通讯——经常每天——与高中同学、儿时伙伴保持联系。百分之四十一的青少年表示他们使用电子邮件和即时通讯，向老师和同学询问课业。超过一半（百分之五十六）喜欢互联网甚于电话。事实上，七到十二年级的学生知道的用户名要比家庭电话号码多。

When
teenagers are asked what they want from the Internet, the most common
response is to get "new information." Close behind, at about 75
percent, is to "learn more or to learn better." The use of the Internet
to learn is not limited to school work. Students are often informal
learners, seeking information on a variety of topics, such as personal
health. Other common activities involve participating in online
communities, showing others what they can do, or voicing their opinions.¹⁴

当问及青少年向从互联网上得到什么时，最常见的回答是获取“新消息”。紧随其后的，大约百分之七十五，是“学到更多或学得更好”。互联网用来学习，不仅仅局限于课业。学生多是非正式学习者，寻找各种主题的信息，比如个人健康。其他常见活动包括参与网上社区，向别人展示他们的能力，表达他们的观点。

College Students

大学生

The
characteristics of traditional age (18-to-22-year-old) college
students - a group sometimes called the Millennials - have been described
by Howe and Strauss as individuals who:

豪和斯特劳斯认为正常年龄段（十八至二十二岁）的大学生——有时候被人称作千禧一代——具有如下个人特征：

Gravitate toward group activity

更倾向于团队活动

Identify with parents' values and feel close to their parents

认同父母的价值观，亲近父母

Believe it's cool to be smart

认为聪明是很拉风的事情

Are fascinated by new technologies

着迷于新技术

Are racially and ethnically diverse; one in five has at least one immigrant parent

种族纷杂。五分之一拥有至少一位移民家长

Are focused on grades and performance

在乎分数和表现

Are busy with extracurricular activities

忙于课外活动

When asked about the biggest problem facing their generation, many respond that it is the poor example that adults set for kids.¹⁵

问及他们这一代所面临的最大问题是什么，很多人回答是成年人为孩子做的示范太差劲。

Individuals
raised with the computer deal with information differently compared to
previous cohorts: "they develop hypertext minds, they leap around."¹⁶ A linear thought process is much less common than bricolage,¹⁷ or the ability to or piece information together from multiple sources. Among other differences are their:

与计算机一起成长的人们处理信息的方式与以前的人们不同：“他们具有超文本思维，他们思维具有跳跃性。”线性思维过程通常远少于摆弄现成东西，将各处的片段信息集合在一起的能力。其他方面的差异还有：

Ability to read visual images - they are intuitive visual communicators

读取视觉图像的能力：他们是直观视觉的交流着

Visual-spatial skills - perhaps because of their expertise with games they can integrate the virtual and physical

视觉空间技能：也许是因为他们的游戏技能，他们可以将虚拟和现实整合成一体

Inductive discovery - they learn better through discovery than by being told

归纳发现：他们通过发现要比通过传授，学得更好

Attentional deployment - they
are able to shift their attention rapidly from one task to another, and
may choose not to pay attention to things that don't interest them

安排注意力：他们能够快速地把注意力从一项任务转移到另一项，也会决定不去关心哪些他们不感兴趣的事情

Fast response time - they are able to respond quickly and expect rapid responses in return¹⁸

快速响应：他们能够快速响应，相应的也期望得到快速回应

Although
many observations can be made about the Net Generation, several merit
special mention because of the potential impact on higher education.

对于网络世代尽管有很多不同意见，但有几处优点特别值得一起，因为这可能会影响到高等教育。

Digitally Literate

数码素养

Having
grown up with widespread access to technology, the Net Gen is able to
intuitively use a variety of IT devices and navigate the Internet.
Although they are comfortable using technology without an instruction
manual, their understanding of the technology or source quality may be
shallow.

网络世代伴随着技术的广泛使用成长起来，他们能够本能的使用各种信息技术设备，冲浪互联网。虽然他们能够在没有指导手册的前提下舒适实用技术，但他们对于技术或者来源质量的认识很肤浅。

The Net Gen are more visually literate than previous
generations; many express themselves using images. They are able to
weave together images, text, and sound in a natural way. Their ability
to move between the real and the virtual is instantaneous,¹⁹
expanding their literacy well beyond text. Because of the availability
of visual media, their text literacy may be less well developed than
previous cohorts.

网络世代比上一代拥有更多视觉素养，多数用图像表达自我。他们能够把图像、文字和声音以一种很自然的方式交织在一起。他们能够瞬间穿行于真实和虚拟，拓展其文化素养，这远不止文字那么点。由于可以使用视觉媒体，他们的文字素养可能比上一代人要低。

Students are more likely to use the Internet for research than the library (73 percent).²⁰
When asked, two-thirds of students indicated they know how to find
valid information from the Web. However, they realize that the Web does
not meet all their information needs.²¹

学生在做研究的时候喜欢互联网甚于图书馆（百分之七十三）。问及此事，三分之二的学生表示他们知道如何在网上找到有用的信息。然而，他们也认识到，网络并不能满足他们所有的信息需求。

Connected

联系

"As
long as they've been alive, the world has been a connected place, and
more than any preceding generation they have seized on the potential of
networked media."²²
While highly mobile, moving from work to classes to recreational
activities, the Net Gen is always connected. According to one student,
"I like how cell phones work - you can always get a hold of someone, and
it goes with you wherever you go." The particular device may change
depending on circumstance (for example, laptop, cell phone), but they
are constantly connected and always on.

“只要他们活着，人之间就有联系，相比以往任何一代人，他们抓住了网络化媒体的潜力。”虽然具有高度流动性，从工作到上课到娱乐，网络世代总是在联络。一名学生说，“我喜欢手机，你随时都能找到别人，走到哪儿都能带上。”这一特殊设备可能会依情况而变化（比如可能是笔电，手机），但他们总是在联系，总是在线/开机。

Immediate

快速

Whether
it is the immediacy with which a response is expected or the speed at
which they are used to receiving information, the Net Gen is fast. They
multitask, moving quickly from one activity to another, sometimes
performing them simultaneously. They have fast response times, whether
playing a game or responding to an IM. In fact, more value may be
placed on speed than on accuracy.

无论是他们给出回应的速度，还是获取信息的速度，网络世代都很快。他们可以同时处理多项任务，多项活动之间快速移动，有时候看上去他们同时处理几件事。他们的响应时间很快，无论是玩游戏还是回应即时通讯。事实上，他们更看重速度而非准确。

Experiential

体验

Most Net
Gen learners prefer to learn by doing rather by being told what to do.
The role having grown up with video games plays in this preference is
unclear, but Net Gen students learn well through discovery - by exploring
for themselves or with their peers. This exploratory style enables them
to better retain information and use it in creative, meaningful ways.²³

大多数网络世代学习者喜欢做中学，不喜欢别人告诉他们该怎么做。在成长中电子游戏对这种偏好起到的作用，还不清楚，但是网络世代学生通过探索发现能学得更好——自己独立或者与伙伴一起探索。这种探索风格使得他们能更好的保留信息，并以有创造力的有意义的方式使用信息。

Social

社会

"Prolific
communicators, they gravitate toward activities that promote and
reinforce social interaction - whether IMing old friends, teaming up in
an Internet game, posting Web diaries (blogging), or forwarding joke
e-mails."²⁴ The Net Gen displays a striking openness to diversity, differences, and sharing; they are at ease meeting strangers on the Net.²⁵
Many of their exchanges on the Internet are emotionally open, sharing
very personal information about themselves. The Net Gen has developed a
mechanism of inclusiveness that does not necessarily involve personally
knowing someone admitted to their group. Being a friend of a friend is
acceptable. They seek to interact with others, whether in their
personal lives, their online presence, or in class. (Sometimes the
interaction is through an alternative identity. Significant numbers of
teens assume an online identity that is different from their own.)²⁶
Although technology can't change one's personality, introverts, for
example, use the Internet as a tool to reach out. These social
connections through e-mail might not have happened before. Extroverts
can make their circle of friends even larger.²⁷

“多产的交流者，都倾向于促进加强社会互动的活动——与老朋友即时通讯，结队打网络游戏，张贴网络日志，转发笑话邮件等。”网络世代在多样性、差异和分享上展示出惊人的开放性，他们在网上很容易与陌生人约会。他们在网上的交流中，感情开放，分享非常个人的自我信息。网络世代具有包容性，并不一定在意某人是否属于他们团队。可以接受朋友的朋友。他们渴望与他人的互动，在私人生活中，在线活动中，课堂中，都是如此。（有时候以另一种身份互动。相当多的青少年使用的在线身份与自身身份不同。）虽然技术不能改变一个人的个性、性格，比如，把互联网作为交流工具，这些通过电子邮件建立的社会关系，以前并没有发生过。外向的人可以让他们的朋友圈子更大。

The
Net Gen also exhibits learning preferences that are closely related to
their characteristics. For example, their social nature leads aligns
with their preference to work in teams or interact peer-to-peer. Net
Gen learning preferences that may impact higher education include the
following.

网络世代也表现出学习偏好与其个人特征有密切关系。比如，他们的社会性质使得他们的偏好与团队工作或者点对点互动相结合。网络世代的学习偏好可能会在以下几个方面影响到高等教育。

Teams

团队

The Net Gen often prefers to learn and
work in teams. A peer-to-peer approach is common, as well, where
students help each other. In fact, Net Geners find peers more credible
than teachers when it comes to determining what is worth paying
attention to.²⁸

网络世代多喜欢团队学习和工作。点对点模式也很常见，在这些模式下，学生可以彼此帮助。事实上，网络世代在决定干关注什么的时候，认为伙伴比教师更可信。

Structure

结构

The
Net Gen is very achievement oriented. "They want parameters, rules,
priorities, and procedures … they think of the world as scheduled and
someone must have the agenda."²⁹ As a result, they like to know what it will take to achieve a goal. Their preference is for structure rather than ambiguity.³⁰

网络世代非常受成就的影响。“他们需要指标、规则、优先、规程，他们认为世界已经规划好了，某人一定掌握有具体安排。”因此，他们想知道想要实现的目标是什么。他们更喜欢清晰结构，而非模棱两可。

Engagement and Experience

参与和体验

The
Net Gen is oriented toward inductive discovery or making observations,
formulating hypotheses, and figuring out the rules. They crave
interactivity. And the rapid pace with which they like to receive
information means they often choose not to pay attention if a class is
not interactive, unengaging, or simply too slow.³¹ The Net Gen may need to be encouraged to stop experiencing and spend time reflecting.

网络世代倾向于归纳发现、做出观察、形成假说、找出规则。他们渴望互动。他们喜欢快速获取信息，这意味着如果班级没有互动，不吸引人，进度太慢，他们就会选择不去关心。网络世代可能需要人去告诉他们，停止体验进行反思。

Visual and Kinesthetic³²

视觉与动觉

The
Net Gen is more comfortable in image-rich environments than with text.
Researchers report Net Gen students will refuse to read large amounts
of text, whether it involves a long reading assignment or lengthy
instructions. In a study that altered instructions from a text-based
step-by-step approach to one that used a graphic layout, refusals to do
the assignment dropped and post-test scores increased. The Net Gen's
experiential nature means they like doing things, not just thinking or
talking about things.

网络世代在图像环境中会更舒适，在文字环境中则不然。研究者报告，网络世代学生拒绝阅读大量文字，无论是长时间阅读任务，还是很长的说明书。在一项研究中，将以文字为基础的一步步走的说明书换成图形结构，对该项任务的抗拒下降了，事后测试得分数增加了。网络世代的体验特性意味着他们喜欢做事情，不仅是思考谈论事情。

Things that Matter

解决问题

The Net Gen readily takes part in community activities.³³
Given a choice, they seem to prefer working on things that matter, such
as addressing an environmental concern or a community problem. They
believe they can make a difference and that science and technology can
be used resolve difficult problems.³⁴

网络世代乐于参与社区活动。只要有可能，他们总是愿意解决问题，比如解决环境问题、社区问题。他们相信他们能够发挥影响，科学和技术可以用于解决疑难问题。

Nontraditional Learners

非传统学习者

At
the same time that colleges and universities are graduating their first
Net Generation learners, most campuses are experiencing an influx of
nontraditional students. Three-quarters of all undergraduates are
"nontraditional," according to the National Center for Educational
Statistics. Nontraditional students are defined as having one or more
of the following characteristics:

与此同时，高校第一批网络世代即将毕业，所有高校都会遭遇到一大批非传统学生。根据国家教育中心的数据，四分之三的大学在校生都是非传统的。非传统学生是指，具有一到多个以下特征：

Delayed enrollment - did not enter postsecondary education in the same year they graduated from high school

延迟注册：没有在高中毕业的同一年进入大学

Attend part-time, for all or part of the academic year

所有学年或部分学年，使用半工半读方式

Work full time - 35 hours or more - while enrolled

在入学的时候全职读书，每周三十五小时以上

Financially independent as defined by financial aid

虽然需要经济援助，但经济独立

Have dependents, other than a spouse, which may include children or others

有家属，除了配偶还可能包括子女等

Single parent, having one or more dependent children

单亲家长，有一到若干个子女

Lack of a high school diploma³⁵

缺少高中文凭

The
more nontraditional characteristics students possess, the less likely
they are to persist in college after the first year or to graduate.
Nontraditional learners tend to be concentrated in specific types of
institutions. In community colleges, for example, nearly half the
students have delayed beginning postsecondary education. Half also had
two or more persistent risk factors. In contrast, 91 percent of
students in four-year colleges enrolled immediately after high school;
85 percent had no persistent risk factors.³⁶ Adult learners represent a significant category of nontraditional learners:

学生们用有的大多数非传统学习者特征，不大可能坚持过进入大学第一年或者直到毕业。非传统学习者往往集中于特定类型的教育机构。比如，在社区大学，将近一半的学生延迟大学教育。一般具有两个或更多持续风险因素。相比之下，在四年制大学中，百分之九十亿的学生在高中毕业后立即入学，百分之八十五的学生没有持续风险因素。成人学习者是非传统学习者一个很重要的类别：

35 percent of undergraduates are adult learners

百分之三十五的大学在校生是成人学习者

70 percent of all adult learners are female

百分之七十的成人学习者是女性

38 is the median age of undergraduate adult learners

在读成年学习者的平均年龄是三十八岁

80 percent of adult learners are employed³⁷

百分之八十的成人学习者工作过。

The
motivation for going to college is often different for adult learners
compared to the Net Gen. Among adult learners 70 percent have a degree
as their goal; the other 30 percent are seeking a certificate or a
specific set of skills.³⁸

成人学习者与网络世代相比，上大学的动机多有不同。在成人学习者当中，百分之七十以学位为目标，其他百分之三十想得到证书，或者学习特定技能。

Product of the Environment

环境的产物

It
is often said that we see the world through our own eyes. Our
experiences and the environment around us shape how we think, behave,
and act. Consider birthplace. If you were born in the south, you might
have a southern accent; if raised in Canada, you would speak
differently. Tastes in food and clothes might differ, as would customs
and expressions. We are all products of our environment - and technology
is an increasingly important part of that environment.

人常道，境随心生。我们的经验和我们周围的环境影响着我们如何思考、行为、行动。考虑一下出生地。如果你生在南方，你会有一口南方口音，如果你长在加拿大，你的口音又不同。口味和衣着也会不同，习俗和措辞也是如此。我们都是环境的产物——技术是环境日渐重要的一部分。

Few
generalizations are entirely correct. However, generalizations - such as
those about generations - highlight trends. Today's generations can be
described as follows.³⁹

某些概括很正确。然而，某些概括——比如这些有关网络世代的——则凸显趋势。今天这一代可以概括如下：

	Matures	Baby Boomers	Generation X	Net Generation
Birth Dates	1900 - 1946	1946 - 1964	1965 - 1982	1982 - 1991
Description	Greatest generation	Me generation	Latchkey generation	Millennials
Attributes	Command and control Self-sacrifice	Optimistic Workaholic	Independent Skeptical	Hopeful Determined
Likes	Respect for authority Family Community involvement	Responsibility Work ethic Can-do attitude	Freedom Multitasking Work-life balance	Public activism Latest technology Parents
Dislikes	Waste Technology	Laziness Turning 50	Red tape Hype	Anything slow Negativity

	成熟的一代	婴儿潮一代	被遗忘的一代/新新人类	网络世代
出生日期	1900 - -1946	1946 - -1964	1965 - -1982	1982 - -1991
描述	最伟大的一代	我们这一代	挂钥匙的一代	千禧一代
特征	命令与控制自我牺牲	乐观工作狂	独立多疑	满怀希望有决心
喜欢	尊重权威家庭参与社区	责任职业道德态度积极	自由多任务平衡工作与生活	公众行为最新技术父母
不喜欢	浪费技术	懒惰跨进五十岁	官僚作风夸夸其谈	缓慢消极

Other
attributes show generational trends as well (for example, attitude
toward changing jobs or locus of community). One of the most striking
attributes is the attitude toward the Internet. For the Net Gen, the
Internet is like oxygen; they can't imagine being able to live without
it.⁴⁰

其他特征也显示出这一代人的倾向（如，对于改变工作的态度，对社区的定位）。其中最突出的特性就是对于互联网的态度。对于网络世代，互联网就像是空气，他们无法想象，离开网络该怎么生存。

Not Just an Age Phenomenon

不仅仅是时代现象

Although
these trends are described in generational terms, age may be less
important than exposure to technology. For example, individuals who are
heavy users of IT tend to have characteristics similar to the Net Gen.
In fact, the pervasiveness of technology - in our professions and in our
personal lives - virtually ensures that most individuals gradually assume
some Net Gen characteristics. For example, ask yourself:

虽然这些趋势都是按照世代来描述的，年龄可能并没有与技术的接触那么重要。比如，信息技术老鸟具有与网络世代相同的特征。事实上，由于技术的普及——在我们的工作和生活中——几乎可以肯定大多数人都具有一些网络世代的特征。比如，问问你自己：

Are you more comfortable composing documents online than longhand?

在线文档比速记更好用？

Have you turned your "remembering" (phone numbers, meetings, and so on) over to a technology device?

你是否将你的“记忆”（电话号码、会议，等等）转移到技术设备上了？

Do you go to meetings with your laptop or PDA?

你开会的时候带着笔电或PDA？

Are you constantly connected? Is the Internet always on whether you are at home or work? Is your cell phone always with you?

你是否经常与他人联系？无论在家还是上班都在线？手机不离身？

How many different activities can you effectively engage in at one time?

你能在同一时间有效参与多少不同活动？

Do you play video or computer games?⁴¹

你玩电子游戏或者计算机游戏么？

The
differentiating factor may not be so much one person's generation
versus another; the difference may be in experience. Generational
issues are relevant to higher education because the faculty or
administrator perspective may be considerably different from that of
our students.

一代人与一代人之间的区别可能并没有那么大，区别可能在于经验上。两代人之间的问题存在于高等教育之中，因为教师或管理人员的观点与我们的学生有相当大的差别。

Implications

影响

Whether the Net Generation is
a purely generational phenomenon or whether it is associated with
technology use, there are a number of implications for colleges and
universities. Most stem from the dichotomy between a Net Gen mindset
and that of most faculty, staff, and administrators.

无论网络世代是否一个世代现象，或是否与技术的使用有关，都对高校产生了许多影响。大多起源于网络世代与教师、员工及管理人员在文化理念上的冲突。

It's Not About Technology

跟技术无关

It
is an almost instinctive assumption to believe that Net Gen students
will want to use IT heavily in their education; they certainly do in
their personal lives. However, if you ask Net Gen learners what
technology they use, you will often get a blank stare. They don't think
in terms of technology; they think in terms of the activity technology
enables. In general, the Net Gen views the Internet as an access tool - a
medium for distribution of resources rather than a resource with
limitations.

人们凭直觉认为，网络世代学生愿意在其教育中深入使用信息技术，他们的确在其生活中是这样做的。然而，当你问起网络世代他们用了哪些技术，他们会很困惑。他们并不考虑技术，他们考虑的是实用技术的活动。一般而言，网络世代把互联网视作访问工具——分发而非限制资源的媒体。

When asked about technology, students' definitions
centered on new technologies. For example, a cell phone with a new
feature was considered technology; a cell phone with standard features
was not. What we might consider "new technology," such as blogs or
wikis, are not thought of as technology by students.⁴²

当问及技术，学生们主要是指新技术。比如，有新功能的手机被认为是技术，只有标准功能的手机就不是。我们所认为的“新技术”，比如网志或者维基，学生可能不当作技术。

The
activity enabled is more important to the Net Gen than the technology
behind it. For example, instant messaging wasn't considered a
technology; IMing is treated as a verb - it is an action, not a
technology. Students often use the word "talk" when they describe text
messaging or instant messaging. Software blends into the background; it
enables certain activities to occur, but it is not new, novel, or
customizable - all part of the Net Gen's definition of technology.⁴³

对网络世代而言，活动远比背后的技术更重要。比如，不认为实时通讯是一种技术，用实时通讯聊天被认为是一项活动，而不是技术。学生描述短信通讯或实时通讯的时候，常用“谈话”这个词。软件融入了后台，它使得某些活动可以发生，但它不是最新的、新奇的、可定制的——这都是网络世代对于技术的定义。

Student
satisfaction with online learning exemplifies our assumptions about
online learning. Since Net Geners spend so much of their time online,
it seems reasonable to expect that they would have a strong preference
for Web-based courses. The reverse is actually true, as illustrated by
a study from the University of Central Florida. Older students (Matures
and Baby Boomers) are much more likely to be satisfied with fully
Web-based courses than are traditional-age students. The reason relates
to the Net Gen desire to be connected with people and to be social as
well as their expectations of higher education. Traditional-age
students often say they came to college to work with faculty and other
students, not to interact with them online. Older learners tend to be
less interested in the social aspects of learning; convenience and
flexibility are much more important.⁴⁴

学生很满意在线学习，这证明了我们对在线学习的假设。由于网络世代花费这么多时间上网，似乎有理由期待他们对基于网络的课程很感兴趣。事实上正好相反，中佛罗里达大学的一份研究报告就说明了这一点。年长的学生（成熟一代和婴儿潮一代），相比于普通年龄的学生，更满足于完全基于网页的课程。其原因涉及到网络世代更渴望与人沟通，参加社交活动，以及他们对高等教育的期待。普通年龄的学生常说他们来大学与老师及其他学生一起工作，而不是与他们在网上互动。年长的学习者往往对学习的社交方面不大感兴趣，对于他们，方便和灵活性才是更重要的。

In
response to a student technology survey the majority of students
preferred a moderate amount of IT in their classes. Students appreciate
the convenience provided by online syllabi, class readings, and online
submission of assignments.⁴⁵ They also want face-to-face interaction, however:

在回答学生技术调查时，大多数学生都比较喜欢在课堂上使用适当的信息技术。学生很喜欢在线课程提纲、课堂读物、在线提交功课带来的便利。他们也喜欢面对面互动，然而：

Year
after year, face-to-face interactions are ranked by all students in
either first or second place. This replicates the results of many
distance education studies that show students often feel that something
important to their learning is missing when all interactions are
mediated, whether asynchronous or synchronous.⁴⁶

年复一年，在所有学生的排名当中，面对面互动不是第一就是第二。许多远程教育研究不断表明，无论同步异步，如果所有互动都通过中介发生，学生就会觉得在他们的学习当中缺少了某些重要东西。

The
implication is that colleges and universities should not assume that
more technology is necessarily better. Technology that enables certain
types of activities is likely to be appreciated. For example, wireless
networking enables learner mobility and makes it possible to be
constantly connected. The majority of wireless network use, however,
may be outside the academic realm. Using technology to increase
customization, convenience, and collaboration is well received;
however, its integration into most courses or curricula is not as deep
as into students' personal lives.

这意味着，高校不能假设，技术越多就一定越好。技术，可以让某些类型的活动更招人喜欢。比如，无线网络可以让学习者随意流动，让持续联络成为可能。然而，无线网络的大多数用途，可能跟学术领域无关。运用技术提高个性化、便利、合作，会受人欢迎，然而，将技术整合到所有课堂或课程当中，不能像整合到学生生活当中那样深入。

Communities and Social Networks

社区与社交网络

The
Net Gen exhibits a tendency to work in teams or with peers and will
move seamlessly between physical and virtual interactions. It is not
uncommon to find students working together and still sending IMs - even
though they are a few feet away. Their communities and social networks
are physical, virtual, and hybrid. Personal does not always mean "in
person" to the Net Gen. Online conversations may be as meaningful as
one that is face-to-face. Interactions with faculty need not be "in
person" to be valuable and personal.

网络世代展示出团队工作、与伙伴工作的倾向，以及在虚拟与现实互动之间无缝移动的意愿。一起工作的学生——他们即使就在几尺之外——仍然使用即时通讯进行交流，这种情况并不罕见。他们的社会和社交网络是现实与虚拟的混合体。对于网络世代，“亲自”并不总意味着“亲身”。在线交谈也是一种面对面。与教师互动并不需要“亲身”赴约，才显得有价值够亲切。

Net Geners use technology
extensively to network and socialize. In their personal lives, buddy
lists, virtual communities, and social networks such as Flickr or Orkut
are heavily used. "When we poll users about what they actually do with
their computers, some form of social interaction always tops the
list - conversation, collaboration, playing games, and so on. The
practice of software design is shot through with computer-as-box
assumptions, while our actual behavior is close to computer-as-door,
treating the device as an entrance to a social space."⁴⁷

网络世代把技术广泛用于人际关系和社交活动。在个人生活、好友名单、虚拟社区、Flickr 和Orkut 等社交网站中大量使用。“我们调查用户究竟如何使用计算机，某些社交活动总是名列榜首——交谈、合作、玩游戏等等。在软件设计当中，总是把计算机当成盒子，而我们在现实中的行为基本上是把计算机当成门，把计算机当成通往社交场所的大门。”

Net
Geners are emotionally open and use the Internet as a social technology
to reveal their feelings, to express their views, to meet new people,
and to experience different cultures. Many of the online exchanges by
Net Geners reveal a great deal of personal information - not just facts
but emotions.

网络世代情绪外露，把互联网当作社交技术来展示他们的感受、表达他们的观点、回见新朋友、体验不同文化。网络世代的很多网上交流都透露了大量个人信息——不但包含事实也包含情感。

Computer games provide a social outlet for large
numbers of Net Geners. Students play games in groups; online
communities form around games; and players add to existing games,
sharing their work with others. "Games encourage collaboration among
players and thus provide a context for peer-to-peer teaching and for
the emergence of learning communities. … Look up any popular game on
the Internet and you find robust communities of game players debating
games, sharing game tips, or offering critiques to designers."⁴⁸

计算机游戏为大量网络世代提供了社交途径。学生成群玩游戏；围绕游戏形成在线社区；玩家参加游戏，与他人分享成果。“游戏鼓励玩家之间的合作，从而为点对点教学提供了环境，进而形成学习社区。看看网络上任何一款流行游戏，你就会找到健全的玩家社区，玩家在其中讨论游戏、分享技巧、向设计者提出批评。”

First-Person Learning

第一人称学习

Learning
is participatory; knowing depends on practice and participation.
Digital resources enable experiential learning - something in tune with
Net Gen preferences. Rather than being told, Net Geners would rather
construct their own learning, assembling information, tools, and
frameworks from a variety of sources.

学习是参与；认知取决于实践和参与。数码资源导致体验式学习——这符合网络世代的偏好。与其让别人告诉自己，网络世代更愿意自己构建自己的学习，自己从各种资源当中汇编信息、工具和框架。

Digital repositories can provide raw material for learning. For example, The Valley of the Shadow archive (http://www.iath.virginia.edu/vshadow2/)
allows students to draw their own conclusions about the Civil War using
original records from two counties - similar in all aspects except one
was Confederate and the other was Union. Census data, agricultural
records, newspaper articles, church records, and letters from soldiers
and their families constitute the original source material that allows
students to engage in "first-person learning." The site also serves
formal and informal learners. It is the most heavily accessed Civil War
site on the Web, according to Google.⁴⁹

数码资源库可以为学习提供原始素材。比如，《阴影山谷》项目档案允许学生使用来自两边的原始记录——各方面都一样，仅仅是一边来自南方邦联，另一边来自联邦——从而得出自己对南北战争的看法。人口普查数据、农业记录、报刊文章、教会记录、士兵与家人的书信，共同构成了原始素材，让学生进行“第一人称学习”。该网站同时为正规学习者和非正式学习者提供服务。根据谷歌，这是网上了解南北战争最全面的网站。

Online
laboratories and remote instruments enable students to collect data
that can be analyzed and manipulated with the tools of the profession.
For example, iLab uses a Web interface to link students with a circuit
analyzer. Thanks to the online interface, the instrument is available
not only to MIT students but also to students at several other
institutions whenever and wherever they choose to do their experiments.⁵⁰

在线实验室和远程仪器，使得学生可以利用这些专业工具，收集、分析、处理数据。比如，iLab 使用网页界面，让学生使用电路分析仪。幸苦有了在线界面，不仅仅麻省理工的学生可以使用该设备，其他一些教育机构的学生也可以使用，无论时间地点，他们都可以用来做他们的实验。

Simulations
and visualizations allow students to explore and draw their own
conclusions - another form of first-person learning. Games and role
playing provide students with the opportunity to assume another persona
and learn by "being there" rather than by being told. For example, the
game Civilization III serves as the impetus for students to use
traditional sources of learning material. Rather than replacing
traditional resources such as maps, texts, or educational films, the
game encourages students to use those media to do better. Students must
deal with a range of complexities - political, scientific, military,
cultural, and economic - over 6,000 years to win the game, and they must
synthesize and integrate information from multiple disciplines to
succeed at the game.^51,52

模拟和可视化让学生自己探索并得出自己的结论——这是另一种形式的第一人称学习。游戏和角色扮演，为学生提供机会扮演“其他地方”的其他人，而不是仅仅被告知。比如，游戏《文明III》推动学生使用传统学习素材，而不是将传统资源替换成地图、文本或者教育影片，游戏鼓励学生利用这些媒体做到更好。学生必须处理一系列复杂事物——政治科学军事文化和经济——经过六千年时间才能赢得游戏，他们必须从多渠道综合信息，才能赢得游戏。

Interaction⁵³

互动

The
social nature Net Geners, as well as their desire for experiential
learning, implies that interaction is an important technique for
colleges and universities to employ. The importance of interaction is
not new; learning science has consistently demonstrated that students
learn more when they interact - with material, with each other, and with
faculty. The "talk, text, test" approach to teaching is not highly
effective with most learners. Students do best when they actively
construct their own knowledge. In addition, there is a positive
correlation between interaction and student retention.⁵⁴

网络世代的社会性质，以及他们对体验式学习的愿望，意味着互动是高校部署技术时的重要考量因素。互动的重要性一直都存在。学习科学一贯表明，只有在学生互动的时候才学的更多，与素材、他人、教师互动。“讲、看、练”教法，对大多数学习者而言并不是最有效的。学生只有在他们积极构建自己的知识的时候，才能做到最好。另外，互动与学生对知识的掌握，呈正相关。

The
level of interactivity in a traditional lecture is low. Estimates are
that students ask 0.1 questions per hour in a traditional class;
faculty ask 0.3 per hour. Technology makes it possible to provide
learners with anytime, anywhere content and interactions.
Computer-based instruction, however, increases the number of questions
posed from less than 1 per hour to 180 - 600 per hour.⁵⁵

在传统讲授式课堂上，互动的程度很低。据估计，在传统课堂上，学生每小时提问零点一个问题；教师每小时提问零点三个问题。技术，让学习者在任何时间地点都能获得内容和互动。然而，基于计算机的教学，增加了提问题的数量，从每小时不到一个，增加到每小时十八万有余。

The
short attention spans of Net Geners also point to interaction as an
important component of instruction. They "crave interactivity - an
immediate response to their each and every action. Traditional
schooling provides very little of this compared to the rest of their
world."⁵⁶

网络世代的短期注意力也指出，互动是教学的很重要组成部分。他们“渴望互动——对他们每一个动作都做出即时响应。与他们自己的世界相比，传统学校教学只提供了很少的互动。”

Digital
Natives accustomed to the twitch-speed, multitasking, random-access,
graphics-first, active, connected, fun, fantasy, quick-payoff world of
their video games, MTV, and Internet are bored by most of today's
education, well-meaning as it may be. But worse, the many skills that
new technology [has] actually enhanced (for example, parallel
processing, graphics awareness, and random access) - which have profound
implications for their learning - are almost totally ignored by educators.⁵⁷

数码原住民习惯于瞬间速度、多任务、随机访问、图形优先、积极、连接、乐趣、幻想、快速回报的世界，这个世界存在于他们的电子游戏、MTV、互联网，他们觉得如今绝大部分教育都无聊透顶，尽管这些教育都是出于善意的。但更糟糕的是，新技术事实上增强了许多技能（比如，并行处理、图形认知、随机访问）——这对他们的学习有着深远的影响——但几乎都被教育体制忽略了。

Interaction
is not limited to classroom settings. Informal learning may comprise a
greater share of students' time than learning in formal settings. The
type of interaction, peer-to-peer instruction, synthesis, and
reflection that takes place in informal settings can be critically
important. In fact, "the full range of students' learning styles is
undercut when interaction is limited to classroom settings."⁵⁸

互动不局限于课堂环境。与在正规机构中的学习相比，非正式学习占用的学生时间可能更多。点对点教学、综合、反思，发生在非正式场合中的这些互动类型，都非常重要。事实上，“在课堂环境中，限制了互动的时候，学生的所有学习类型，也都在减少。”

Immediacy

即时

"Digital
natives are used to receiving information really fast. They like to
parallel process and multitask…. They thrive on immediate
gratification."⁵⁹
The expectation of immediacy holds true for access to friends,
services, and responses to questions. According to one student, "The
ever-increasing speed of the Internet is one thing I really like
because I like my info now, not later."

“数码原住民习惯于非常快的接收信息。他们喜欢并行处理和多任务。他们依靠立即满足需求而成长。”在很多方面都期待实时响应，包括访问朋友、服务和回答问题。据一名学生说，“我真的很喜欢互联网速度越来越快，因为我喜欢现在就得到信息，若不是过一阵子。”

Although the Net Gen
expects constant connections and immediate responsiveness, this is
often an unrealistic expectation. Faculty may find it helpful to set
expectations about e-mail turnaround; rather than instant response, it
may take up to 48 hours for a response on the weekend.

虽然网络世代期待不间断连接和实时响应，但这通常是一种不现实的期待。教师可能会发现，有助于设置回信的期望，不是立即回复，而是在周末的四十八小时内回复。

Multiple Media Literacy

多媒体素养

The
Net Gen has been exposed to multiple media types from a young age.
Prensky estimates that by the time individuals reach age 21, they will
have spent twice as many hours playing video games as reading (10,000
versus 5,000).⁶⁰
The Net Generation is more visually literate than earlier generations.
Many are fluent in personal expression using images; they are
comfortable in an image-rich rather than a text-only environment.

网络世代从很小年纪就接触到各种类型的多媒体。普林斯基估计，到了二十一岁，他们在电子游戏上花的时间将是阅读的两倍（10000对5000）。网络世代比上一代人拥有更多视觉素养。许多人能够流畅的用图像表现自我，他们更习惯于图像丰富的环境而非纯文本环境。

For
some time educators have realized that although reading text may be the
preferred mode of learning for faculty, librarians, and other
academics, it is not the preferred mode for most of the population.
Students on average retain 10 percent of what they read but closer to
30 percent of what they see. Much of the reading done by the Net Gen
has been on the Web, where they are more likely to scan than to read.⁶¹

一段时间以来，教育工作者已经认识到，虽然阅读文字是教师、图书管理员和其他学者首选的学习模式，但不是大多数普通人的首选模式。学生平均只能记住他们阅读的百分之十，但能记住他们看到的将近百分之三十。网络世代很多阅读都发生在网上，在网上他们更喜欢略读而非精读。

In
fact, overreliance on text may inhibit Net Gen participation. Net
Geners "prefer their graphics before their text rather than the
opposite."⁶²
In one course (Library 1010 at CSU - Hayward) significant numbers of
students would not process extensive written directions. They would
either try to infer the directions or they would turn in incomplete
assignments. When the homework was altered, presenting pictures first
rather than words, refusals to do the assignment dropped (by 10-14
percent) and student scores increased (an improvement of 11-16
percent); pretest versus post-test scores gained 4-9 percent.⁶³

事实上，过分依赖文本，有可能抑制网络世代的参与。网络世代“喜欢图像甚于文字。”在一门课程（加州大学海沃德分校图书馆专业1010课程）当中，相当数量的学生不愿阅读大量书面指示。他们要么去尝试臆猜这些指示，要么决定放弃这些功课。改变家庭作业，用图片而非文字来呈现，放弃作业的数量减少了（10-14%），学生分数增加了（增加11-16%），学前测试与学后测试分数比例增加了4-9%

Asking the Right Questions

问正确的问题

It
is easy to assume that we understand our students, but there is often a
difference in perspective between the Net Generation and
faculty/administrators. As a result, it is important that colleges and
universities ask the right questions and not simply assume that the
current student cohort is like we were. Important questions for
colleges and universities to ask include the following.

很容易假定我们了解我们的学生，但是网络世代与教师/管理人员的观点常常相左。因此，重要的是高校问出正确的问题，而不是简单假设现在的学生和我们一样。高校要问的重要问题包括如下：

Who are our learners?
Although the institution may have demographic information (date of
birth, home town, gender, ethnicity, and so on), we may not understand
how students view the world, what is important to them, or even how
they learn best. It is increasingly important that colleges and
universities engage learners in a dialogue to better understand their
perspective. Institutions make massive investments (IT infrastructure,
residence halls, recreational facilities) for the sake of meeting
students' wants and needs; basing these decisions on assumptions is
risky.

我们的学生是什么人？虽然教育机构有人口统计信息（出生日期、籍贯、性别、民族等），但我们并不知道我们的学生如何看待这个世界，什么对他们很重要，甚至他们怎么才能学到最好。高校与学习者对话，更好的了解学习者的看法，这日渐重要。教育机构为了满足学生的需求，投入巨资（信息技术基础设施、宿舍、娱乐设施），基于假设做出的这些决定都有很大风险。

How are today's learners different from (or the same as) faculty/administrators?
Although the Net Generation may be different in many ways from Baby
Boomers, some things stay the same. Students still come to college to
meet people, to socialize, and to interact with faculty. Many of the
measures of student engagement have consistently shown the importance
of interaction with faculty and other students, as well as a supportive
campus environment. Student preferences for how they receive
information are likely different, however - they favor more graphics, a
rapid pace, and immediate responses. If faculty and administrators can
understand the factors that lead to student success - which persist and
which differ from their own college experience - they will be able to
more effectively develop programs and target investments.

如今的学习者如教师/管理人员有哪些不同（相同）？虽然网络世代与婴儿潮一代在很多方面都有不同，但有些事情依然相同。学生依然在学校交朋友、社交、与教师互动。许多学生措施，以及校园环境的支持，依然显示出与教师及其他学生互动的重要性。学生喜欢的信息获取方式可能不同，但是——他们更喜欢图像、更快的速度、实时响应。如果教师和管理人员理解这些因素，就能引导学生成功——这些相同与不同都来自他们自身的高校体验——他们将能够有效的制定计划、确定目标。

What learning activities are most engaging for learners?
It isn't technology per se that makes learning engaging for the Net
Gen; it is the learning activity. If today's students are experiential
learners, lectures may not be an optimal learning environment. If they
are community oriented, providing opportunities for peer-to-peer
experiences or team projects may be preferable to individual activity.
There are significant individual differences among learners, so no
one-size-fits-all approach will be effective. Even so, learning science
and the habits of the Net Generation provide some clues as to how we
can improve learning.

什么学习活动最能吸引学习者？不是让网络世代参与学习的技术本身，而是学习活动。现在的学生是体验式学习者，讲座就不是最好的学习环境。他们以社区为导向，为点对点体验或小组项目提供机会，会优于个体活动。学习者之间有着显著的个体差异性，因此没有什么有效的普适办法。即便如此，学习科学与网络世代的习惯，为我们如何改善学习，提供了一些线索。

Are there ways to use IT to make learning more successful?
Learning science indicates that successful learning is often active,
social, and learner-centered. However, with the multiple
responsibilities of faculty, staff, and administrators, as well as the
large numbers of students most campuses serve, ensuring successful
learning without the support of IT may be impossible. Individualization
and customization are laudable goals for instruction; they are also
time intensive. With the appropriate use of technology, learning can be
made more active, social, and learner centered - but the uses of IT are
driven by pedagogy, not technology.

是否有办法运用信息技术让学习更成功？学习科学表明，成功的学习多是积极的、社会的、以学生为中心的。然而，有与教师、员工、管理人员的诸多责任，以及庞大数量的学生、在没有信息技术的支持下确保学习成功，很难做到。对教学而言，个体化与个性化是值得赞扬的目标。教学也是时间密集型工作。适当使用技术，学习能更积极、社会化、医学生为中心——但是技术的使用要以教学法为前提，而不是为技术而技术。

Educating students is
the primary goal of colleges and universities. However, reaching that
goal depends on understanding those learners. Only by understanding the
Net Generation can colleges and universities create learning
environments that optimize their strengths and minimize their
weaknesses. Technology has changed the Net Generation, just as it is
now changing higher education.

教育学生是搞笑的首要目标。然而，实现这一目标取决于理解这些学习者。只有了解网络世代，高校才能创造发扬他们有点减少他们缺点的学习环境。技术已经改变网络世代，一如现在正在改变高等教育。

Endnotes

注释

Adapted from The Key to Competitiveness: A Guide for College and University Leaders (Washington, D.C.: American Association of State Colleges and Universities), http://www.aascu.org/book/default.htm.

Steve
Jones, "The Internet Goes to College: How Students Are Living in the
Future with Today's Technology" (Washington, D.C.: Pew Internet &
American Life Project, September 15, 2002), http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=71.

Kaiser
Family Foundation, "New Study Finds Children Age Zero to Six Spend as
Much Time with TV, Computers, and Video Games as Playing Outside"
(Menlo Park, Calif.: Kaiser Family Foundation, 2003), http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia102803nr.cfm.

Peter Grunwald, Children, Families, and the Internet (Bethesda, Md.: Grunwald Associates, 2004), http://www.grunwald.com.

Peter
Grunwald, "Two Million American Children Have Their Own Web Sites,
Broad New Internet Survey Shows" (Bethesda, Md.: Grunwald Associates,
December 4, 2003), http://www.schooldata.com/ssm-grunwald-internet.htm.

Kaiser Family Foundation, "The Digital Divide Survey Snapshot" (Menlo Park, Calif.: Kaiser Family Foundation, 2003), http://www.kff.org/entmedia/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=46366.

Threshold/ISTE Youth Forum, "Future Chat," Threshold, Summer 2004, http://www.ciconline.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=32&name=T-Sum-04-FutureChat.pdf.

Amanda
Lenhart, Maya Simon, and Mike Graziano, "The Internet and Education:
Findings of the Pew Internet & American Life Project" (Washington,
D.C.: Pew Internet & American Life Project, September 2001), http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Schools_Report.pdf.

Threshold/ISTE Youth Forum, op. cit.

Amanda
Lenhart, Lee Rainie, and Oliver Lewis, "Teenage Life Online: The Rise
of Instant-Message Generation and the Internet's Impact on Friendships
and Family Relationships" (Washington, D.C.: Pew Internet &
American Life Project, June 20, 2001), http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Report.pdf.

NetDay, Voices and Views of Today's Tech-Savvy Students: National Report on NetDay Speak Up Day for Students 2003 (Irvine, Calif.: NetDay, 2004), http://www.netday.org/downloads/voices%20and%20views%20final.pdf.

Lenhart, Simon, and Graziano, op. cit.

NetDay, op. cit.

Peter
Grunwald, "Key Technology Trends: Excerpts from New Survey Research
Findings," Exploring the Digital Generation, Educational Technology,
U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C., September 23 - 24, 2003.

Neil Howe and William Strauss, Millennials Rising (New York: Vintage Books, 2000).

Marc Prensky, "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently? "On the Horizon, vol. 9, no. 6 (December 2001), pp. 15 - 24; available from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/.

John Seely Brown, "Growing Up Digital," Change, vol. 32, no. 2 (March/April 2000), pp. 10 - 11, http://www.aahe.org/change/digital.pdf.

Prensky, op. cit.

Jason Frand, "The Information-Age Mindset: Changes in Students and Implications for Higher Education," EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 35, no. 5 (September/October 2000), pp. 15 - 24, http://www.educause.edu/apps/er/erm00/articles005/erm0051.pdf.

Jones, op. cit.

Online
Computer Library Center (OCLC), "How Academic Librarians Can Influence
Students' Web-Based Information Choices," OCLC white paper on the
information habits of college students, June 2002, http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/community/informationhabits.pdf.

Scott Crittenden, "Silicon Daydreams: Digital Pastimes of the Wired Generation," virginia.edu, vol. VI, no. 2 (fall 2002), http://www.itc.virginia.edu/virginia.edu/fall02/daydreams/home.html.

Don Tapscott, Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation (New York: McGraw Hill, 1998).

Crittenden, op. cit.

Lenhart, Rainie, and Lewis, op. cit.

Ibid.

Crittenden, op. cit.

Kate Manuel, Teaching Information Literacy to Generation Y (New York: Haworth Press, 2002), https://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=32857.

Kathleen Phalen, "Self-Assured, Stressed, and Straight: Millennial Students and How They Got that Way," virginia.edu, vol. VI, no. 2 (fall 2002), http://www.itc.virginia.edu/virginia.edu/fall02/student/home.html.

Howe and Strauss, op. cit.

Prensky, op. cit.

Manuel, op. cit.

Jeffrey R. Young, "A New Take on What Today's Students Want from College," Chronicle of Higher Education, January 31, 2003; available by subscription at http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i21/21a03701.htm.

Howe and Strauss, op. cit.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education 2002, NCES 2002 - 025 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2002), http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002025.pdf.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Teaching Undergraduates in U.S. Postsecondary Institutions: Fall 1998, NCES 2002 - 209 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2002), http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002209.pdf.

W. S. Swail, "Higher Education and the New Demographics: Questions for Policy," Change, July/August 2002, pp. 15 - 23; see also the listserv posting at http://lists.eou.edu/archive/ctl-group/d20034/0019.html.

Carol Aslainian, personal communication, 2002.

Rita M. Murray, personal communication, 2004.

Tammy Savage, personal communication, 2003.

Vicki Suter, NLII presentation, 2002.

Greg Roberts, personal communication, 2004.

Ibid.

See chapter by Hartman, Moskal, and Dziuban.

See chapter by Kvavik.

Chris Dede, Planning for "Neomillennial" Learning Styles: Implications for Investments in Technology and Faculty (unpublished paper).

Clay
Shirky, "Clay Shiky's Writings About the Internet: Economics &
Culture, Media & Community, Open Source" (e-mail from Larry
Johnson, November 9, 2004).

Kurt Squire and Henry Jenkins, "Harnessing the Power of Games in Education," Insight, issue 2003 (2003), http://www.iaete.org/insight/articles.cfm?&id=26.

Edward Ayers, personal communication, April 4, 2003.

J. A. del Alamo et al., "Educational Experiments with an Online Microelectronics Characterization Laboratory," 2002, http://science.donntu.edu.ua/konf/konf7/o102.pdf.

Wendy Rickard and Diana Oblinger, Higher Education Leaders Symposium: Unlocking the Potential of Gaming Technology (Redmond, Wash.: Microsoft Corporation, September 9 - 10, 2003), http://www7.nationalacademies.org/itru/Gaming%20Technology.pdf.

Squire and Jenkins, op. cit.

An entire chapter is devoted to the importance of interaction for the Net Generation.

George D. Kuh et al., "Student Learning Outside the Classroom: Transcending Artificial Boundaries," ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 8 (Washington, D.C.: The George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development, 1994), http://www.ericdigests.org/1996-4/student.htm.

Dexter Fletcher, Higher Education Leaders Symposium: Unlocking the Potential of Gaming Technology (Redmond, Wash.: Microsoft Corporation, September10, 2003).

Prensky, op. cit.

Ibid.

Dede, op. cit.

Prensky, op. cit.

Ibid.

Manuel, op. cit.

Prensky, op. cit.

Manuel, op. cit.

Acknowledgments

致谢

The
authors would like to thank Vicki Suter and Jean Kreis for conducting
focus sessions with students and for sharing their observations.

作者要感谢维奇·苏特和简·克里斯，引导学生到重点活动，并分享他们的意见。

About the Authors

关于作者

Diana Oblinger
is vice president for the EDUCAUSE teaching and learning initiatives
and directs the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII).
Previously, Oblinger served as the vice president for information
resources and the chief information officer for the 16-campus
University of North Carolina system and as a senior fellow for the
EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR). She was the executive
director of higher education for Microsoft Corporation and led the
Institute for Academic Technology for IBM. Oblinger was on the faculty
at Michigan State University and the University of Missouri - Columbia,
where she also she served as an academic dean. She is a graduate of
Iowa State University.

戴安娜·欧布灵格，是EDUCASE 教育与学习倡议的副主持人，并指导国家学习架构计划（NLII）。此前，担任北卡罗莱纳州立大学一十六座校园系统的信息资源副总裁和首席信息官，以及EDUCASE 应用研究中心（ECAR）的高级研究员。他曾担任微软公司的高等教育执行主任，领导过IBM公司的学术技术研究会。曾在密歇根州立大学和密苏里-哥伦比亚大学任教，还在后者担任教务长。毕业于爱荷华州立大学。

James L. Oblinger is the
chancellor of North Carolina State University, a research-extensive
land-grant institution with 30,000 students and approximately 2,200
full- and part-time faculty. Previously, he served as provost and
executive vice chancellor, dean and executive director for agricultural
programs of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and associate
dean and director of academic programs at NC State. Oblinger is also a
professor of food science and has held positions at the University of
Missouri - Columbia and the University of Florida. Oblinger received his
bachelor's degree in bacteriology from DePauw University, his master's
in food technology from Iowa State University, and his doctorate in
food technology from Iowa State University.

詹姆斯·欧布灵格，北卡罗莱纳州立大学校长，该校研究广泛，土地辽阔，有30000名学生，约2200全职或兼职教师。之前，曾担任教务长和常务副校长，农业与生命科学院农业项目的教导主任、执行主任，北卡州学术项目的副院长和主任。还是食物科学教授，曾任职于密苏里-哥伦比亚大学和佛罗里达大学。从迪保尔大学细菌学专业获取学士学位，从爱荷华州立大学视频技术专业获取硕士学位和博士学位。

http://www.educause.edu/Resources/EducatingtheNetGeneration/IsItAgeorITFirstStepsTowardUnd/6058

Orca's Blog

2009年8月1日星期六

翻译《02 信息技术或者年龄：理解网络世代的第一步》