TY - JOUR
T1 - Beyond natives and immigrants
T2 - Exploring types of net generation students
AU - Kennedy, G.
AU - Judd, T.
AU - Dalgarno, B.
AU - Waycott, J.
PY - 2010/10/1
Y1 - 2010/10/1
N2 - Previously assumed to be a homogenous and highly skilled group with respect to information and communications technology, the so-called Net Generation has instead been shown to possess a diverse range of technology skills and preferences. To better understand this diversity, we subjected data from 2096 students aged between 17 and 26 from three Australian universities to a cluster analysis. Through this analysis, we identified four distinct types of technology users: power users (14% of sample), ordinary users (27%), irregular users (14%) and basic users (45%). A series of exploratory chi-square analyses revealed significant associations between the different types of technology users and the university that students attended, their gender and age and whether the student was local or international. No associations were found for analyses related discipline area, socio-economic status or rurality of residence. The findings are discussed in light of the rhetoric associated with commentaries about the Net Generation, and suggestions about their implications for teaching and learning in universities are offered.
AB - Previously assumed to be a homogenous and highly skilled group with respect to information and communications technology, the so-called Net Generation has instead been shown to possess a diverse range of technology skills and preferences. To better understand this diversity, we subjected data from 2096 students aged between 17 and 26 from three Australian universities to a cluster analysis. Through this analysis, we identified four distinct types of technology users: power users (14% of sample), ordinary users (27%), irregular users (14%) and basic users (45%). A series of exploratory chi-square analyses revealed significant associations between the different types of technology users and the university that students attended, their gender and age and whether the student was local or international. No associations were found for analyses related discipline area, socio-economic status or rurality of residence. The findings are discussed in light of the rhetoric associated with commentaries about the Net Generation, and suggestions about their implications for teaching and learning in universities are offered.
KW - Digital natives
KW - Net generation
KW - Students
KW - Technology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77956267634&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00371.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00371.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77956267634
SN - 0266-4909
VL - 26
SP - 332
EP - 343
JO - Journal of Computer Assisted Learning
JF - Journal of Computer Assisted Learning
IS - 5
ER -