LERN Annual Conference

1. Learning In the 21st Century
Presented by Julie Coates
Sr. Vice President, LERN
LERN Annual Conference, New Orleans, 2015

2. Some Sobering Statistics
about Learning in America
Working Harder, not Smarter
 The US ranks 14th in the world with the number of 24-35 year olds
with higher education credentials
 The odds that a young person in the U.S. will be in higher education
if his or her parents do not have an upper secondary education are
just 29% -- one of the lowest levels among OECD countries.
 The U.S ranks 28th in the percentage of 4-year-olds in early
childhood education, with a 69% enrolment rate.
 Across all OECD countries, 30% of the expenditure on higher
education comes from private sources, while in the U.S., 62% does.
 Teachers in the U.S. spend between 1,050 and 1,100 hours a year
teaching – much more than in almost every country

3. When NOT having a
generation gap is a negative
 24-35 year olds have only 5%
greater attainment of post
secondary credentials than
54-65 year olds.
 Other countries are seeing a
larger difference between
older and younger generations
 Smallest gap in ability
to use information and
communication
technology for problem
solving
 20+% of 54-65 year-olds
 40% of 24-35 year –olds
(below the OECD
average of 50%)

4. Fewer People Do Better Than
Their Parents
 The US has one of the smallest proportions of young adults who
surpassed their parents’ level of education
 15% as compared with 22% overall
 62% of female students graduated in 6 years
 56% of male students graduated in 6 years

5. There are more older students
 Between 2000 and 2012, the enrollment of students
under age 25 and the enrollment of those age 25 and
over both increased by 35 percent.
 From 2012 to 2023, however, NCES projects the rate of
increase for students under age 25 to be 12 percent,
compared with 20 percent for students age 25 and
over.

6. Today’s students
are emotionally
less well than at
any time in
history.
The CDC now
estimates that
one in every 68
students over
the age of 8 is on
the autism
spectrum.
Simultaneously,
the numbers
with average or
above average
intelligence is
increasing.
The vast
majority of
students today
have to balance
studies with
work and still,
many live below
the poverty line.
The average level
of student debt
for a college
graduate today is
$30,000, even
though students
work while in
school
Faculty
development is a
critical issue for 21st
century teachers,
along with
structures that
support student
learning.
AndragogyPoverty &
Work
Cognitive
Difference
Mental
Health
Debt
“Students who come to college feeling
depressed and not emotionally well tend
not to graduate,”

8. 
Six Myths about Learning in the 21st Century
#1: Just because it is online does not
make it 21st Century

9. We have a hard
time envisioning
the future.
1. Adaptive
Learning
2. Gamification
3. Flipped
Classrooms
4. Blended
Learning
5. Mobile
Learning
6. Visual
Learning
Source: Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/the-future-of-learning-beth-holland

10. #2: We Embrace Diversity
DIVERSITY
1 : the inclusion
of different
types of people
(as people of
different races
or cultures) in a
group.

11. The College holds the
diversity of human
perspectives and gifts to
be indispensable
Makes possible the
education of distinctive
graduates prepared for
lifelong learning, in the
21st century.
“Inclusion is an essential dimension of
academic excellence.”

12. Visible Diversity & Invisible
Diversity
 Autism
 Bi-sexual
 Working class
 Middle Class
 Doesn’t need to work

13. #3: Learning Happens in School
 “It isn’t what people don’t know
that hurts them. It’s what they do
know that just ain’t so.”—Will
Rogers

14. • Smoking has gone from doctor-
recommended to deadly
• We used to think the Earth was
the center of the universe
• Pluto is a planet
• Brontosaurus was a real
dinosaur
• Dinosaurs were cold-blooded
Students Learn
EVERYWHERE from an
early age.
Half the facts you know
are wrong.
People cling to selected
“facts” as a way to justify
their beliefs about how the
world works. Science
increases exponentially,
doubling in size every 10–
15 years.

15. #4: Good Grades Reward
Learning

16. Learning Rewards Learning
Learning Rewards Learning
• It’s all about dopamine.
You may have heard
about dopamine
because it is the
chemical that is
released in the brain
when we are rewarded.
• It is also released when
a person gambles and
wins (or loses), takes
certain addictive drugs
like cocaine, or just
engages in a new
exciting adventure.
• Novelty
• Relevance
• Engagement
• Reinforcement

17.  Within current classrooms,
most of us ask our students
to sit in the same types of
seats, to use the same texts,
notebooks, and technology,
and to work within an
environment configured
primarily by the teacher.

18. #5: Flexible, Customized Learning
Can’t be Easily Accomplished

19. Flexible Learning

20. 6
Listening to teachers
and studying for tests
has little to do with life
in the world of work.
People in the work
world create,
manage, evaluate,
communicate, and
collaborate—
engage..
Schooling
Prepares
Students
for Life
#6: Education prepares
students to learn

21. Listening to teachers and
studying for tests has little
to do with life in the world
of work. People in the work
world create, manage,
evaluate, communicate,
and collaborate—engage..
Schooling
Prepares
Students
for Life
Education prepares
students to learn

23. Demographic
Realities
• Boomers are not retiring at
65.
• In 15 years, all Baby
Boomers will be over 65.
• The more education, the
longer people continue to
work.
• More engaged workers
retire later.
• 49% of Boomers still
working plan to retire after
age 66.
• Boomers currently
comprise nearly 31% of
the workforce. (about
equal to Gen X and Gen
Y)
• Between 27% and 38% of
workplace training
happens online.

24. One screen
(Desktop)
Boomers
Two Screens
(Laptop)
Gen X
No Limit
(Tablet, mobile
phone,
multiple
monitors)
GenY

25. Older Adults and the Internet
Internet Use by
Older Adults
 58% of adults 65+ use the
Internet.
 81% of adults 50-64 use the
Internet
 Of Baby Boomers seeking an
MBA 44% preferred online
delivery, compared with
22% of Millennials and 28%
of Gen Xers.
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/06/26/americans-internet-access-
2000-2015/ and http://www.aacsb.edu/blog/2015/june/reaching-
millennials-and-gen-xers-in-the-classroom/

26. Boomers Like Online
Learning
 Intuitive Interfaces
 Avoid confusing or unclear processes
 Set content in a readable font
 Don’t treat them like they’re old. They don’t like that.
 Opportunity to interact
 Opportunity to share what they know
 Opportunity to “lurk” when they feel uncertain
 Quickest way to the goal
 Prefer online learning more than Gen X or Gen Y
 http://elearningbrothers.com/how-to-target-the-right-generation-in-elearning/

27. How Boomers Learn
Best Online
• Tell them up front what the
course will cover, what the
objectives are and what
they need to master
• Present in a linear fashion
• Cover information in a
logical, progressive
fashion
• Boomers will learn what
they are told is expected
• Boomers will always want
to make an “A”
How to Design E-Learning for
Multiple Generations
December 16, 2013 E-
Learning Blog
Source: http://freddiediazbatista.com/main/tag/baby-boomers/

28. Gen X and Online
Learning
Appreciate new technology
Expect Interactivity
Prefer linear content
Want options to “test out”
when they believe they
know what they need to
know
Choices (turn audio on or
off, for example)
Training on what they need
NOW, not 6 months from
now—performance support
tool or job aid they can
refer to later
Games and simulations
More performance support
tools

29. How to state
Objectives for Gen X
and Gen Y
 To meet Generation X’s preference
for learning takeaways, we began
building more performance
support tools for those tasks that
learners don’t perform often.
Because this group likes choice,
we also added an audio on/off
and closed-captioning option to
many of our courses.
 For Generation X (and Y) learners,
we changed the way in which we
write course objectives. If you put
objectives at the beginning of an
e-learning program, Baby Boomers
will read and accept them.
Generation Xers and Yers won’t. So
we began telling a story instead.
The story usually explains why the
training is necessary (e.g., Here’s a
situation and here is the outcome
that will occur if the situation is not
handled properly).
WHY
1. Tell a story
2. Explain why the training
is necessary

30. Millennials Spend 18 Hours a Day
Consuming Media -- And It's Mostly
Content Created By Peers
 ages 18 to 36 spend an average of 17.8 hours a day
with different types of media.
 Those hours represent a total across multiple media
sources, some of which are consumed simultaneously.
 User-generated content shapes millennials' lives more
than any other form of media.
 Information gathered through user-generated
content is trusted 40 percent more than information
from other media – including newspapers and
magazines.
 Millennials also find user-generated content 30
percent more memorable than other sources.

31. Training vs Training

32. On Demand
Learning
What they need
When they need it
When it is convenient
Online, Podcasts, Peer-
to-Peer
Mentors

33. Technology has enabled this generation
to expect "instant digital gratification"
• . . .through mobile phones,
ipods, iphones and so on, and
although it might be a bit
extreme, if we translate that
into learning expectations, we
can assume that the way
learning is designed and
delivered needs to be re-
thought.
Robert Spence: Director e-Learning at
Pricewaterhousecoopers

34. Genuine Desire to Learn
 “Somewhere between my
desire to learn and the
professor’s efforts to teach,
something goes terribly wrong.”
 Willie Draves, 2006

35. 35

38. http://www.educatorstechnology.com/201
3/03/6-learning-methods-every-21st-
century.html
Six 21st Century
Techniques
1. Inquiry
Based
Learning
A group activity with the professor/instructor as
facilitator.

39. http://www.educatorstechnology.com/201
3/03/6-learning-methods-every-21st-
century.html
Six 21st Century
Techniques
2. Problem
Based Learning.
Through asking challenging questions learners get
intrinsically motivated to start delving deeper to
find answers for these questions and in doing so they
are exploring new avenues of knowledge and insight.

40. http://www.educatorstechnology.com/201
3/03/6-learning-methods-every-21st-
century.html
Six 21st Century
Techniques
2. Student-
centric.
Active Learning
Engaged
Collaborative

41. Six 21st Century
Techniques
4. Technology
Infused

42. Ubiquitous, Embedded, Invisible Technology
In much the same way that students may
configure their physical learning spaces, they
could also design their digital ones. In the
Jetsons, Elroy relied on his "homework helper"
to support his learning. However, he had
limited access to the machine given its size --
and that it was built into the wall.
Mobile devices allow students to access their
academic support from anywhere at any time.
Technology has truly become ubiquitous. In
fact, it is so embedded in our society that all of
us carry in our pockets the ability to access
information and communicate with others.

43. Media Preferences in Every Aspect of
Life

44. During the 2015 holiday season, 53
percent of Millennials with
smartphones and tablets are
expected to do more shopping on
their devices than they do in brick-
and-mortar stores.
The findings showed that 18-34-year-
olds rely on mobile devices, both to
make purchases and look for deals
as they peruse store aisles in person.
And that trend has far-reaching
implications for the years ahead.
Source: Survey From Waltham, Mass.-based software
performance company Dynatrace.

45. Six 21st Century
Techniques
5.
Gamification/Game
Based Learning in
the online
environment
http://indusgeeks.com/blog/
Over 60% of learners would be
motivated by leader boards and
increased competition between
students.89% say that a point
system would increase their
engagement with an eLearning
application.

46. Six 21st Century
Techniques
6. Peer Learning

47. Ongoing Diagnostics and Feedback

48. From Shift: Disruptive
Learning Blog
Top ways to engage
Millennials through elearning:

49. More Tips for Success with Gen Y
 Scenarios
 Offer diversity
 Let them take control
 Relevant content
 Challenging and
unpredictable
 Allow learners to take
risks
 Gamify the course with
rewards
 Chunk Information
 Use Social Learning
Tools
 Be Flexible
 Be Dynamic
 Allow multi-tasking
http://info.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/219404/Top-12-Must-Do-Things-
to-Reach-Millennials-Through-eLearning

50. What Aetna Did for Gen Y Learners
 The Thiagi Group
 Four-Door approach to
e-learning, in which
learners choose their
best learning style and
can shift from one to
another to meet their
needs our Generation Y
learners.
 The Library (performance
support and reference
materials for self-study
 The Playground learning
through gaming
 The Café learning
through social interaction
 The Torture Chamber the
opportunity to test one’s
skills or knowledge
through simulation

51. If we want this new
generation of learners to
be engaged, we need to
get to know them and
adapt our courses.

52. Genuine Desire to Learn
 If we teach today’s students as
we taught yesterday’s, we rob
them of tomorrow.”
 John Dewey

54. Evaluations and CEU Quizzes
Please evaluate this session.
Two ways: 1) our evaluation
sheets in the room; or 2) on
the app
 Open the app
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 Scroll to the bottom
 Click on feedback*
To receive CEUs for this
session
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 Click on CEU quiz*
Just take the 5 question quiz and
get 4 out of 5 questions correct.
You may take the quiz more than
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*If you have no cell phone or internet connections,
room monitors have printed CEU quizzes and
evaluation forms, but using the app is encouraged.

55. Thank You!
Contact us a info@lern.org for additional training
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