March 3, 2008
Keeping Up With Trends Can Close the Knowledge Divide
OSHKOSH—Children like to recognize their half birthdays. It’s their way to receive affirmation that they are indeed looking and acting older. Halfway through my 35th year of life, I’m convinced I not only appear older, but that some of my actions represent a divide between my generation and the college-aged students I interact with at UW Oshkosh.
I recognized the “divide” last week when I was invited to speak to business students enrolled in the career development course taught by Career Services. My presentation, “A Brand Called You”, discussed the importance of developing and protecting your personal brand. I had given the same presentation last semester, but the energy with this group felt different. Within five minutes of going through an outline of objectives, I could tell I lost the students’ attention. I forged ahead explaining the material with real world examples, all the while growing concerned by their lack of response.
Half way through, I took one last shot at saving the presentation before yelling “man overboard!” I used a trump card in a marketer’s playbook – authentic delivery. I stopped and asked the students if they found the information beneficial. I told them I was frustrated with their behavior and if we did not start having an engaged discussion, I would end it. The tactic salvaged the presentation. Several students e-mailed me within hours to thank me for providing useful tips on how to differentiate themselves.
After reflecting on the class, revisited Marc Prensky’s articles and blogs (www.marcprensky.com) on how today’s students learn. The next time I was going share information with students in a classroom setting, it was going to have to be me who changed, not them.
According to Prensky, the reality today is students feel they need to “power down” at school. Digital natives are used to receiving information fast and they like to parallel process, which means learn best with two or more activities going on simultaneously. As one student told me, “I would prefer to have a job where I can listen to music, instant message and work at the same time.” Taking this comment at face value, how many employers would welcome this behavior?
What employers, educators and marketers need to understand is today’s youth are wired differently. Digital natives do not have patience for lectures, step-by-step logic and one-way (or one-sided) marketing messages. The rest of us are digital immigrants.
Digital natives accept a combination of what Prensky calls legacy content, which is traditional and expected. My students point out they are not opposed to traditional advertising, but they expect to be exposed to the brand though future content, which is most often delivered in an interactive environment (i.e. gaming).
Digital immigrants learn slower, step-by-step, individually and seriously.
They are constantly adapting to their environment. The digital language is a second language and life scientists tell us a language learned later in life goes into a different part of the brain.
Prensky believes understanding and embracing this change in learning is very important, and I would agree. Digital immigrants who speak an outdated language are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language. Herein lies the challenge for all digital immigrant business people.
In the spirit of sharing the language of digital natives, I leave you with a post from a college student in response to a You Tube Video about how digital natives learn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o).
“Technology and the internet have changed the world. This is why online college courses are gaining popularity. Not because it's easy, but because students of this generation are better able to learn with a keyboard instead of a book. Stop resisting the way the world has changed, adapt to it.”
More News
4.18.08
UW Oshkosh Wins District 8 National Student Advertising Competition
3.3.08
Keeping Up With Trends Can Close The Knowledge Divide
9.17.07
Search engine optimization ensures best Web presence
1.8.07
Original Thoughts Something
Technology Can Only Enhance
6.16.06
Get Marketing message across
after your e-mail message
3.16.06
Generation X overlooked by
marketers; don’t miss out
2.6.06
Business Look to Link to Needs
of the Customer’s (Soul)
1.2.06
Getting the Word Out Key to
Finding Fame in Business World
10.24.05
Retailers Should Focus on
Keeping Female Shoppers Happy
8.6.05
Social Media Sites Will Dictate New Marketing Tactics
5.30.05
When it Comes to Marketing and Sales, All the World’s a Stage
