A few months ago I attended a conference at Texas A&M called Generation NeXt. The presenter was Dr. Mark Taylor, and it was by far the most interesting, entertaining, and enlightening conference I’ve attended.

Who comprises Generation NeXt? They are the majority of the students we serve. They are 26 and under, technologically savvy, positive, and diverse. They are a privileged generation with no use for information that doesn’t benefit them. They are a right now generation; they want their information right now and want to access it conveniently. Generartion NeXt members are digital natives, but many of the people that educate them are digital immigrates.

The challenge for many educators is to acquire the digital skills to engage and educate Generation NeXt. It’s necessary for DCCCD to survive and thrive.

The first question of every million dollar salesperson is, “Who is my customer?” The first question of every bestselling author is, “Who is my audience?”

For DCCCD, our customer, our audience, is Generation NeXt.

Let’s get to know them and the technology they use! Then we can determine how to best meet their educational needs.

In the chancellor’s bulletin #47, dated December 15, 2009, Dr. Wright Lassiter urged us to beware of the dangers of inertia.

Inertia – apathy, the inability to move or act, resistance to change.

Dr. Lassiter cited some of the organizations adversely affected by inertia.

The newspaper industry is in a state of massive flux because they were not concerned with delivering the news in a convenient form.  Until recently, music companies seemed to have been more committed to stamping out plastic discs than giving their customers easy access to their favorite tunes. 

Quite simply, we at DCCCD must get on the digital train or get off the track! To board the digital train, try the following links.

http://taylorprograms.com/images/Marc_Prensky_Digital_natives_1.pdf

http://taylorprograms.com/images/Marc_Prensky_Digital_natives_2.pdf