Speaking the Language of the Millennials
Elisabeth E. Tully, Michael Blake, and Sara Ciaburri
Phillips Academy
Oliver Wendell Holmes Library
and independent high school
Hear to talk about their kids
Millennials born after 1981
Who are these kids?
Digital Natives–Mark Prensky
Like to receive information fast
like graphics before text
prefer random (hypertext) access
function best when networked
thrive on instant gratification
prefer games to serious work
Phillips Academy freshman class born in 1992
Google has always been a verb
have rarely mailed anything with a stamp
They really do thing differently
Different kinds of experiences lead to different brain structures
10,000 hours playing video games
20000 hours watching television
200,000 emails and IMs sent
We are facing a language barrier
How serious is this language barrier?
89% of college students begin research with a search engine
2% begin research with a library
Virtual Orientation course inside Blackboard
more than 75% voluntarily completed the activities
each participant had the chance to win an iPOD
used TRAILS to measure assessment
mean scores were really terrible, and Phillips kids are very high-achieving
The Dilemma
How to get the attention of kids who need but don’t know if when we don’t speak the same language
We have to be where they are
We have to change, but we’ve always done it this way
It’s hard being a digital immigrant
What should we do?
We have to communicate in their language
Web 2.0 can be that language
simplicity
rich interactivity
Opportunities provided by web 2.0 and Library 2.0
Phillips experimenting with Web 2.0 tools
Give them a Google-like interface
–federated searching
Planning assignments
–trying to use open source software as a assignment planner
–put in a date the assignment is due, gives you twelve steps
–provides constant email reminders
–assignemnt planner came from University of Minnesota
Electronic Reserves
–offer 24/7 access via Blackboard
Social Networking adn Millennials
–library 2.0 opportunity–become their friend
Social Software
MySpace–as site for everyone
–anyone with an email address
Facebook
–a bit more restricted
YouTube
–based on home video
flickr
–social photographs
What they all have in common:
interaction
feedback
connections
Why are millenials drawn to these sites?
Activism
Belonging
Contact
Freedom–adults aren’t supervising
Oliver Wendell Holmes Library has a MySpace account
but the students aren’t on MySPace
87% of PA students have a Facebook account
so they created a Facebook library profile
Use the wall to answer reference question
Blogs
they use TypePad
Student Advisor Committee blog
Newsletter
Collabortory blog
Library ELF
keep tabs on your library material
send you due date notices through email of text messages
Opportunities for the future
Develop wiki-based resource guides
Audiobooks on iPODS
It’s not about the tools, it’s about the communities and conversations they make possible
–Christopher Harris, School Library Journal, 5/1/2006