Greatest Generation (1922-1943) Ages 67-88. Baby Boomers

1
The Opportunity to Serve Four Generations of
Learners
2
Generational Profiles

• Greatest Generation (1922-1943) Ages 67-88

• Baby Boomers (1944-1960) Ages 50-66

• Silent Generation
• WW I and II
• Atomic Bomb
• Great Depression
• Golden Age of Radio
• Party Line Telephones
• Conformity
• Respect for Authority

• Boomers
• Television/BW 3 channels
• Vietnam
• Civil Rights Movement
• Space Race
• Woodstock
• Optimism
• Personal Gratification

3
Generational Profiles

• Generation X (1960-1980) Ages 30-50

• Millennials (1981-2000) Ages 10-20

• Xers
• Persian Gulf
• Personal Computers
• Challenger Disaster
• Fall of Berlin Wall
• Mobile Phones
• Diversity
• Technoliteracy

• Nexters/Gen Y
• Great Recession
• Cell Phones
• September 11/Afghanistan/Iraq
• Reality TV Shows
• iPods
• Morality
• Social networks

4
Why This Is Important

• First time in history university campuses are
  serving four generations of learners on a large
  scale
• We are living longer and are more highly educated
• We have the Internet and other e-tools to
  communicate
• We are living in a global society
• We have 24 hour access to news and information
• Majority/Minority demographics are changing
• We have an opportunity to learn from each other
• We have three generations of faculty on campus

5
Communication/Learning Tools

• Greatest Generation
• Radio
• Movies
• Newspapers
• Union/military training
• Gen X
• Internet
• CD/VCR
• Hybrid courses
• PowerPoint

• Boomers
• Television
• Overhead projectors
• Time/Newsweek/Fortune
• Lectures
• Millennials
• Online
• iPods
• Wireless devices
• Personal Learning Environments

6
Marketing/Information Sources

• Greatest Generation
• Paper
• Community resources/library, churches, neighbors
• AARP
• Gen X
• Email
• Internet
• Educated parents

• Boomers
• Brochure mailings
• TV
• Information sessions
• Millennials
• Cell phones
• Facebook
• Educational competitions/youth camps

7
What Do We Need to Consider?

• Learning Styles Create Unique Needs
• Challenges for Greatest and Boomers level of
  comfort with online learning
• Gen X and Millennials expect technology and do
  not respond well to lectures only
• Individual learning versus group learning
• Flexible learning times and locations to meet
  nontraditional needs
• Customer service response expectations
• Availability and access to student support
  services
• Faculty challenges include professional
  development and instructional design support,
  facilitated learning versus sage on the stage,
  awareness of different learning needs, response
  and availability to students, a mindset change
• Integrating new learning tools into the
  educational process Facebook, Ning, Skype,
  games and simulations
• How do we motivate and reward faculty
• Marketing Challenges
• Use of multimedia to reach potential audiences
• Budget restrictions
• Customer relationship management (CRM) and
  tracking for results

8
Opportunities

• Cross generational learning
• Global audiences/cross cultural learning
• Flexible learning schedules
• True lifelong learning relationships
• Ability to offer degrees, professional
  development, social and community issue
  discussions, youth programs, alumni learning
• Redefine the role of faculty in the learning
  process