AD ALTA
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
WEB 2.0 TOOLS SERVING NEEDS OF GENERATION Z
a
KATERINA GAJDÁČOVÁ VESELÁ
b
JANA
PUSCHENREITEROVÁ
Faculty of Education, Constantine the Phiposopher University in
Nitra, Dražovská cesta 4, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia
email:
a
kgvesela@ukf.sk,
b
janka.puschen@gmail.com
Paper published within the grant KEGA 003TU Z-4/2020, Support of Foreign
Language Education via merging Technical and Language Content Teaching at non-
philological Universities
__________________________________________________
Abstract: This article tries to answer the question, how to use the characteristics of
Generation Z learners for their education. The fact that they are born as “digital
natives” leads to the conclusion that the Internet should be used in teaching. The best
way to incorporate electronic tools and the Internet is to blend them with face-to-face
instruction. Learning Management Systems are available to serve teachers and learners
and make their efforts easier. Our ideas are supported by the design-based research in
the form of a case study. The data of the research were mined by two research tools –
a questionnaire and a focus group. The results of our research confirm that if teachers
want to follow the principles of the learner-centered approach, they should
accommodate their delivery to the learners, i.e. Generation Z.
Keywords: generation Z, blended learning, LMS, Web 2.0, constructivism,
connectivism, design-based research, Learner-centered approach
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1 Introduction
The first Generation Z learners are graduates now. When they
went to schools and universities, did we, teachers, think about
their differences from the previous generation? Did we try to
assimilate to their needs? If not, it is not too late to do so. At
least we should try.
In the educational process, there are usually up to five
generations involved, so the generation gap between the teachers
and their learners can be remarkably wide. You may be
a Millennial taught by a Traditionalist (born 1945 and before).
Was your teacher empathetic to your specifics? Did you feel the
generation gap?
In this article we try to answer the question, how to use the
characteristics of Generation Z learners for their education. The
fact that they are born as “digital natives” leads to the conclusion
that the Internet should be used in teaching. The best way to
incorporate electronic tools and the Internet is to blend them
with face-to-face instruction.
Learning Management Systems (LMS) are available to serve
teachers and learners and make their efforts easier. They offer
the whole scale of tools, which reflect the environment of Web
2.0; moreover, they are user-friendly for both creators of the
course and learners as well.
Teaching and learning via LMSs is based on two educational
theories, namely constructivism and connectivism, thus it is
necessary to be familiar with them. Knowledge constructs and
their connections create the base for successful learning under
the conditions of blended learning environment.
Our ideas are supported by the design-based research in the form
of a case study. The data of the research were mined by two
research tools – a questionnaire and a focus group. The results of
our research confirm that if teachers want to follow the
principles of the learner-centered approach, they should
accommodate their delivery to the learners, i.e. Generation Z. To
reach this aim they should use Web 2.0 tools, and permanently
upgrade and update not only the content of their courses, but also
the approaches, methods and techniques.
2 Theoretical Background
2.1 Generation Z
Generation Z is the term that is nowadays accepted as common
for the group of people who were born as ‘digital natives’. As
McCrindle and Wolfinger (2010, p.1) state: “[…] today
generations are defined sociologically rather than biologically
[cf. traditional biological definition of ‘generation’]. A
generation refers to a cohort of people born within a similar span
of time (15 years the upper end) who share a comparable age and
life stage and who were shaped by a particular span of time
(events, trends and developments).” It means that not only the
time of the birth is important, but also the social environment
people grow in. As it is expressed in an ancient Arabic saying
(cited ibid.): “People resemble their times more than they
resemble their parents.” The social and psychological influence
of the Internet is undisputable. However, the views and
interpretations may radically differ within the range from those
that highlight more the negatives (Diomidous, Chardalias,
Magita, Koutonias, Panagiotopoulou, & Mantas, 2016), as cyber
bullying, cyber porn, cyber suicide, Internet addiction, social
isolation, cyber racism etc. (we found it needful to note that the
authors are medical doctors) – to those who find positives in
using the Internet; moreover, recommend using social
networking sites for educational purposes (Brown, 2003). Our
views as educators are in agreement with the latter opinion.
Since the importance of the learner-centered approach is after
years of discussions (cf. Lim & Richardson, 2016; Cornelius-
Whie, 2007; Antón, 1999, and others) in modern pedagogy taken
for granted, it is extremely important to know the learners –
nowadays Generation Z. Many authors (e.g. Cilliers, 2017) have
described the characteristics of Generation Z learners;
nevertheless, to support the thesis statement of our paper,
Poláková and Klímová’s (2019, p.4) conclusions are most
valuable: “[…] teachers need to update traditional methods of
teaching and make the learning environment more appropriate to
modern students.” Rothman (n.d.) emphasizes the characteristics
of this generation that are used in our research, namely:
technologies are a natural part of their lives, they have complex
visual imagination and thus their visual learning is highly
effective, instead of reading, they prefer watching video, they
like interactive games, collaborative learning, and creative tasks.
Although we propose using the characteristics of the new
generation of learners for the sake of education, we are at the
same time aware of the dangers of overusing the Internet may
have on their sociological and psychological conditions.
Teachers should show their learners how to gain advantage and
profit from their abilities, and, how to avoid the pitfalls of the
virtual world at the same time.
2.2 Blended Learning
The learning environment that is the most suitable for the
learners who are used to living in the digital world, communicate
via e-media, and breathe virtual air is the environment of
e-learning, i.e. education using electronic devices. Needless to
say, more than pure e-learning, it is the blended learning
approach that satisfies the needs of both learners and their
teachers.
During the last decades, the term Blended Learning has
undergone substantial development. As stated by Ramasubbu
(2017, n.p.):
“[…] the concept of “blended learning”, which was introduced
as early as 2000, has assumed more importance than ever before
and has transformed from a theoretical concept with
rudimentary applications to an essential part of mainstream
education, encompassing a wide array of technological tools,
gadgets and concepts. Blended learning, which once referred to
use of computer and web-based training in class, has now
evolved into a mammoth education program that merges
traditional classroom-based instruction with technology
enhancements such as electronic whiteboards, Internet devices,
multimedia assistance, digital textbooks and online lesson
plans.”
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