Technology Tiger Team

The focus is on faculty facilitating instruction and students becoming active and interactive learners.22

Excellent TeachingFrom our exploration of generational issues, an important question evolved: Can students distinguish characterizations of excellent teachers independent of generation, learning style, course modality, and technological sophistication? Data collected at UCF, with more than half a million student responses, suggest an answer.23 We have identified six characteristics that students attribute to the best faculty—characteristics that are independent of age, gender, and academic achievement. Interestingly, these characteristics correspond to the seven principles of good practice in undergraduate education24 and to the national study of student engagement.25 Although students' behaviors, attitudes, and expectations are generally shaped by their generation, what constitutes good teaching appears to be universal across these generations. Students believe that excellent instructors: Facilitate student learning Communicate ideas and information effectively Demonstrate genuine interest in student learning Organize their courses effectively Show respect and concern for their students Assess student progress fairly and effectivelyThis seemingly paradoxical way in which students determine teaching excellence through the lens of their instructors clarifies how universities must accommodate students' needs, realizing that these needs are universal, yet greatly mediated by the Net Generation.

If today's students do not represent the constituency that our higher educational system is designed to teach as asserted by Prensky,28 how do we remedy that situation? Possibly, by studying how students interacted (politically, economically, culturally, socially, and technologically) with institutions' instructional climate in the past. By monitoring technology developments and their impact on the student population, we will be better able to anticipate the needs of the class of 2025. This approach will thrust institutions into a forward-thinking posture rather than a reactionary one in response to incoming student cohorts.

"To me, my success in the classroom depends on the teacher. If the teacher is prepared and knowledgeable about their particular field, I know I can expect to learn from their knowledge as well as know what is expected of me."

Thus, student views regarding faculty use of PowerPoint help illustrate the Net Generation's desire for the use of technology to support learning, as long as faculty members have the technological—and pedagogical—knowledge and skill necessary to use it appropriately.

(78.6 percent, up from 66.0 percent in2009) agree/strongly agree that “eBook readers (hardware) will be important platforms for instructional content in five years.”

CC2010-Executive Summary.pdf309.26 KB Green-CampusComputing10-slides.pdf1.97 MB