Abstract

In this article, Sarah Lohnes and Charles Kinzer argue for a more nuanced understanding of Net Generation students and their technology practices than received wisdom currently offers. The realization by college and university administrators that Net Generation students, having grown up digital, will learn differently and make new demands of their learning environment has led to changes in many sectors of academic life, with a particular focus on campus infrastructure, faculty development, and curriculum. However, these well-intentioned efforts to adjust to the perceived needs of Net Gen students are frequently made based on a vision of the Net Generation as a homogenous group of technology users. Lohnes and Kinzer argue that a much deeper understanding of student technology practices, and the intersection of these practices with student learning, is critical. To this end, they offer a small ethnographic study of liberal arts college students' technology practices, the results of which indicate that, contrary to common assumptions, we may not be at the point of changing the classroom practices of either professors or students. Addressing on-the-ground student technology practices, they conclude, may provide a better way of considering the complex picture of technology integration on campus. (Contains 2 exhibits.)

Citation

Lohnes, S. & Kinzer, C. (2007). Questioning Assumptions about Students' Expectations for Technology in College Classrooms. Innovate: Journal of Online Education, 3(5),. Retrieved September 1, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/104341/.

Keywords

• College Students
• Computer Attitudes
• Computer Uses in Education
• educational technology
• ethnography
• Exhibits
• Expectation
• faculty development
• higher education
• Liberal Arts
• Questionnaires
• social networks
• Surveys
• technology integration