Wednesday
Aug092000
178 - Do Generation X'ers Learn Differently Than Baby Boomers?; Will Lieberman Choice Highlight Days of Rest?; Learning Napster Responses; Teachers Union Take Stand on e-Learning Degrees
August 9, 2000
1. Do Generation X'ers Learn Differently Than Baby Boomers? At three
meetings in the last month the issue of generational learning styles have
been discussed. The question/curiosity centers around the differences (if
any) in how Generation X (or younger and much younger) workers learn and
will want to learn. And, how it is different from the learning styles of
the Baby Boomers?
On first glance the X'ers are perceived as internet ready --- able and
desiring of learning informally from the on-line resources. How they
develop...from gaining leadership skills to mastering new technology skills
is perceived as different than the approaches used by folks from the Baby
Boomer generation.
I went out to search for some research or informal studies on this issue and
came up blank. So, we will use TRENDS and TechLearn 2000 to drill down on
these generational learning profiles. We would welcome your comments or
even "articles" on this topic, to be submitted to me at emasie@masie.com.
We will also sponsor a Mega-Session at TechLearn 2000 (Nov 12 to 15, 2000)
to include a focus group with people from multiple "generations" in the
workforce. (Go to www.techlearn.com to register for TechLearn.)
2. Will Lieberman Choice Highlight Days of Rest? Digital Balance? Without
regard to who will or should win the U.S. Presidential race in November, it
was interesting to reflect on one aspect of Gore selecting Senator Lieberman
as his Vice Presidential candidate. As a practicing Orthodox Jew, Lieberman
overtly takes the Sabbath as a day of rest. I have already have a dozen
conversations about what that might mean to raise the issue of Digital
Balance in our lives.
The Skills Gap may only be over passed by the Time Gap. As our technology
and organizations ramp up for continuous 24 x 7 communications and work,
what does it mean for our health and "balance". I am looking forward to the
dialogue about our views of the need and value of a "day of rest" in our
lives, whether driven by religious values or personal preference.
3. Learning Napster Responses: We have been bombarded with responses to the
query that I raised about the impact of a Learning Napster on the training
marketplace and field. The responses have come in by the hundreds and are
the strongest set of reactions to any topic we have raised in Trends over
the past few years. They range from a reaction that it would illegal and
immoral to those that told me they are within a few months of releasing such
a product in the marketplace (4 of those). We will take another week to
summarize and edit the responses and you will see them in a future Trends.
4. Teachers Union Take Stand on e-Learning Degrees: The American Federation
of Teachers passed a resolution that opposes undergraduate degrees that are
earned entirely online. The union also called for faculty members to
maintain control of Web-based courses. The resolution, passed during the
group's biennial convention, lists 14 standards for a quality
distance-education program.
Passed without objection, the resolution states that an undergraduate degree
earned entirely from a distance is not of the same quality as a degree that
was earned in a classroom. The resolution states that online undergraduate
degrees should have at least some face-to-face elements in them, "with
exceptions permitted on a case-by-case basis for students truly unable to
participate in classroom education."
"At a certain point you have to say: No, it's not a real undergraduate
degree if it doesn't include people getting together," said Lawrence N.
Gold, higher-education director for the federation. For a complete copy of
their press release on this issue go to: http://www.aft.org/convention/onlinepr.html
5. TechLearn 2000 Rooms Filling at Disney: Make your reservations at
Disney's Coronado Springs Hotel soon! We have over 1,250 colleagues
registered for TechLearn 2000 + The World e-Learning Congress (Orlando -
November 12 to 15th). The hotel tells us that they have been taking loads
of TechLearn reservations....and the spaces will fill at the Conference
property. If you are planning on attending TechLearn, go to www.techlearn.com
and register for the conference (and make a call to Disney
to reserve a room). We really look forward to hosting you in Orlando in November.
meetings in the last month the issue of generational learning styles have
been discussed. The question/curiosity centers around the differences (if
any) in how Generation X (or younger and much younger) workers learn and
will want to learn. And, how it is different from the learning styles of
the Baby Boomers?
On first glance the X'ers are perceived as internet ready --- able and
desiring of learning informally from the on-line resources. How they
develop...from gaining leadership skills to mastering new technology skills
is perceived as different than the approaches used by folks from the Baby
Boomer generation.
I went out to search for some research or informal studies on this issue and
came up blank. So, we will use TRENDS and TechLearn 2000 to drill down on
these generational learning profiles. We would welcome your comments or
even "articles" on this topic, to be submitted to me at emasie@masie.com.
We will also sponsor a Mega-Session at TechLearn 2000 (Nov 12 to 15, 2000)
to include a focus group with people from multiple "generations" in the
workforce. (Go to www.techlearn.com to register for TechLearn.)
2. Will Lieberman Choice Highlight Days of Rest? Digital Balance? Without
regard to who will or should win the U.S. Presidential race in November, it
was interesting to reflect on one aspect of Gore selecting Senator Lieberman
as his Vice Presidential candidate. As a practicing Orthodox Jew, Lieberman
overtly takes the Sabbath as a day of rest. I have already have a dozen
conversations about what that might mean to raise the issue of Digital
Balance in our lives.
The Skills Gap may only be over passed by the Time Gap. As our technology
and organizations ramp up for continuous 24 x 7 communications and work,
what does it mean for our health and "balance". I am looking forward to the
dialogue about our views of the need and value of a "day of rest" in our
lives, whether driven by religious values or personal preference.
3. Learning Napster Responses: We have been bombarded with responses to the
query that I raised about the impact of a Learning Napster on the training
marketplace and field. The responses have come in by the hundreds and are
the strongest set of reactions to any topic we have raised in Trends over
the past few years. They range from a reaction that it would illegal and
immoral to those that told me they are within a few months of releasing such
a product in the marketplace (4 of those). We will take another week to
summarize and edit the responses and you will see them in a future Trends.
4. Teachers Union Take Stand on e-Learning Degrees: The American Federation
of Teachers passed a resolution that opposes undergraduate degrees that are
earned entirely online. The union also called for faculty members to
maintain control of Web-based courses. The resolution, passed during the
group's biennial convention, lists 14 standards for a quality
distance-education program.
Passed without objection, the resolution states that an undergraduate degree
earned entirely from a distance is not of the same quality as a degree that
was earned in a classroom. The resolution states that online undergraduate
degrees should have at least some face-to-face elements in them, "with
exceptions permitted on a case-by-case basis for students truly unable to
participate in classroom education."
"At a certain point you have to say: No, it's not a real undergraduate
degree if it doesn't include people getting together," said Lawrence N.
Gold, higher-education director for the federation. For a complete copy of
their press release on this issue go to: http://www.aft.org/convention/onlinepr.html
5. TechLearn 2000 Rooms Filling at Disney: Make your reservations at
Disney's Coronado Springs Hotel soon! We have over 1,250 colleagues
registered for TechLearn 2000 + The World e-Learning Congress (Orlando -
November 12 to 15th). The hotel tells us that they have been taking loads
of TechLearn reservations....and the spaces will fill at the Conference
property. If you are planning on attending TechLearn, go to www.techlearn.com
and register for the conference (and make a call to Disney
to reserve a room). We really look forward to hosting you in Orlando in November.
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