An overview of Millennials, their expectations and how educators can integrate technology & social media into their curriculum to help teach the next generation of students.

1. EDUCATING TODAY'S
LEARNERS
Millennials, Technology &
Social Media

2. MILLENNIALS
Definition: The American generation
succeeding Generation X. They are named as
such due to their coming-of-age at around the
turn of the millennium in some way, shape, or
form.
Born between the early 1980s to mid 1990s.

3. MILLENNIALS: Who are they?
● Age 17 - 34
● 1.6 billion
● Racially and linguistically diverse
● Early social media adopters
● Selective on brand versus utility

4. MILLENNIALS: Expectations
● ACCUSTOM TO CHOICE - Grown up in an "environment of
plenty" and see choice as a right, not a privilege.*
● INSTANT SATISFACTION: They expect to find products and
services that satisfy their expectations on demand.*
○ Immediate responses
● COMMUNICATION - BRIEF, INSTANT & ALWAYS ON
● VALUE - self service*
● SUPPORT - from sources other that controlled offerings
(phone/email)*
○ Chat, Discussion boards, Search enabled F.A.Q.'s
○ Working with their time constraints not our office hours
● EXPECT US TO CONNECT WITH THEM WHERE THEY ARE
○ Social Media
○ Mobile

5. MILLENNIALS
HOW THEY BUY

6. MILLENNIALS: How they buy
● 51% say that opinions found on a company’s
website have greater impact on purchase
decisions than recommendations from
friends or family.*
● 84% say that user generated content
(comments, posts) has at least some
influence on what they buy*

9. MILLENNIALS
HOW THEY LEARN

10. MILLENNIALS: How they learn
● Highly educated
● Digital natives: They have never known a
world without technology
● Multi-taskers
● Experiential learners: They learn by doing -
See traditional learning as largely irrelevant
●

11. THE FUTURE OF LEARNING
● Free range learners
○ Students choose how, why & when they learn.
● Self service
○ Less expensive and more timely than the alternative.
● Informal learning
○ No need for busy work and bureaucracy that
accompany typical learning methods
● Instructional Technology
○ Current
○ Engaging
○ Interactive
○ Social

12. THE FUTURE OF LEARNING

13. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
INTEGRATING SOCIAL MEDIA
INTO THE STUDENT LEARNING
EXPERIENCE

14. THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

15. EDUCATION + SOCIAL:
SOCIAL STATISTICS
● Social networking is still the fastest-growing active
social media behaviour online
● 59% Maintain & update a social profile
● Updating a microblog (e.g. Twitter), increased from
13% to 24%.
27% of users are uploading video to sites like YouTube
● There are now over 2.8 billion social media profiles,
representing around half of all Internet users
worldwide.
● 4 out of 5 Internet users visit social networks and
blogs
● 54% of the Internet visits facebook every day

16. EDUCATION + SOCIAL:
ITS NOT A FAD
SOCIAL MEDIA ISN'T JUST A LIST OF DESTINATIONS ITS THE NEW STANDARD OF EXPECTATIONS

17. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
PEER TO PEER LEARNING
● Learn through their interaction &
participation with one another
● No traditional roles of student / teacher
● Mentors / Group learning
● Interaction with group members
Learning from others is neither new nor
revolutionary; it has just been ignored by most
of our educational institutions.*

18. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
THE EMERGENCE OF THE COLLECTIVE
A collection of people, skills, and talent that produces a
result greater than the sum of its parts.
● Our ability to produce, consume, and distribute knowledge in an unlimited,
unfiltered, and immediate way is the primary reason for the changes we
see today.
● With just a computer and access to the Internet, one can view or consume
an almost unimaginably diverse array of information and points of view.
● Equally important is the ability to add one’s own knowledge to the general
mix: Websites, Blogs, Comments, Forums.
● Participation has an effect, both in terms of what the individual is able to
draw from it and how it shapes and augments the stream of information.

19. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
THE EMERGENCE OF THE COLLECTIVE
● Very little learning comes from formal courses (less than 20 percent,
according to some research).*
● Learning occurs through
○ Listening
○ Observing
○ Acting and reflecting
○ Participating
○ Communicating
○ Collaborating
● Taking responsibility for learning means enabling these capabilities.*

20. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
THE BENEFITS OF INTEGRATING SOCIAL LEARNING
● Improved time management
● Active Learning & Reflection
● Multiple Means for Communication
● Increased Faculty / Student Interaction
● Greater Student Participation
● Prompt Feedback

21. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
LEARNING RELATIONSHIPS

22. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
INSTRUCTOR USE
* 2011 Pearsons Higher Ed social media survey of 900 higher ed professionals

23. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
EXAMPLES

24. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
EXAMPLES
VIDEO
using twitter to increase student engagement & grades

25. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
EXAMPLES
VIDEO
using student communities to engage & connect

26. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
EXAMPLES
FACEBOOK GROUP PARTICIPATION
LISTENING / ENGAGING / INTERACTING/ ENCOURAGING

27. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
PRAISE!
INSTRUCTOR
PRAISE

28. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
PRAISE!
INSTRUCTOR
PRAISE

29. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
ECAMPUS
PROFILE

30. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
ECAMPUS
FORUMS

31. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
ECAMPUS
FORUMS

32. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
ECAMPUS
BLOGS

33. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
ECAMPUS
WIKIS

34. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
RESOURCES / TRAINING / QUESTIONS

35. Addendum
Social Media Etiquette
Fill out your online profiles completely with information about you and your relationship to Penn Foster.
Use your real name and your own photo. If your not comfortable using your own photo then ask for an
official Penn Foster avatar.
By identifying yourself as an employee of Penn Foster you become, a representative of our company
and everything you post has the potential to reflect on the company and its image.
Use a different profile or account for your personal connections. Business and pleasure do not
mix in this medium.
You are personally responsible for the content you publish on-line, whether in a blog, social computing
site or any other form of user-generated media. Be mindful that what you publish will be public for a
long time—protect your privacy and take care to understand a site's terms of service.
Respect your audience. Don't use ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, or engage in any conduct
that would not be acceptable in Penn Foster’s workplace. You should also show proper consideration
for others' privacy and for topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory—such as
politics and religion.

36. Addendum
Social Media Etiquette
Create a section on your main profile detailing who you are seeking to befriend and ask that visitors
abide by that information.
Offer information of value. (faq’s, additional resources, course related content) Don't talk just about
yourself and Penn Foster.
Pick a screen name that represents you and the company well.
Don't put anything on the Internet that you don't want your boss, current student or potential
student to read.
Check out the people who want to follow you or be your friend. (twitter, ecampus, facebook)
If someone does not want to be your friend, accept their decision gracefully. They have the right to
make that choice and you have to accept it.
Never post when you're overly-tired, intoxicated, angry or upset.
Compose your posts, updates or tweets in a word processing document so you can check grammar
and spelling before you send them.(optional, many browsers & the ecampus offer these functions
today)

37. Addendum
Social Media Etiquette
Be polite & friendly. (Remember your comments are public)
Don’t take it personally. If a student is complaining or is upset. Ask how you can help them or correct
the issue. Do not argue with the student.
If you’re not sure how to answer then consult your supervisor or a Social Media Team member.
Use your best judgment. Remember that there are always consequences to what you publish. If
you're about to publish something that makes you even the slightest bit uncomfortable, review the
suggestions above and think about why that is. If you are still unsure feel free to discuss it with your
manager.

38. EDUCATION + SOCIAL
EXAMPLES
VIDEO
using video to reinvent education

39. MILLENNIALS: How they learn
VIDEO
teaching digital natives