The unique learners called the Net-Generation, born after 1982, transformed the
educational paradigm of the United States. As this technologically savvy group of
students demand more digitally driven, relevant and challenging learning, schools need to
understand these students and meet their needs. Rodgers, speaking at the Annual
Conference on Distance Learning and Teaching (2006) explained the net-generation’s
implications on education. He stated, “Today’s students live in a digital world where
multimedia pervades every aspect of their lives. Their characteristics also reflect the
society they live in. Because these students have the world’s knowledge at their
fingertips, they developed a heightened sense of curiosity and interactivity” (p. 2).
Another study by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser (2008) of the Berkman Center at Harvard
Law School called “Born Digital” showed, “Unlike those of us a shade older, this new
generation didn't have to relearn anything to live lives of digital immersion. They learned
in digital the first time around” (p. 4). The authors argued that young people like to use
new digital ways to express themselves: shooting a YouTube video where their parents
would have written an essay, for instance. The unique disposition of this generation of
learners also results in employers adapting to the Net-Gen’s preference for collaborative
work rather than traditional command and control and their need for immediate feedback
about their performance