Yestereday’s NY Times had a great article about the technology use of millennials (those born between 1980 – 2000). It reinforces the findings of the recent Pew Internet studies (see here for example) about video cell phones, messaging and other technologies to stay in touch. After plunking down some hard cash to get my son a 60gb iPod, I can attest to their use of hand held technologies to communicate and view information. Just watch the recent spurge in cell phone commercials to get a feel for where this is at (Verizon’s vcast commercials for example).
Extension is currently behind the curve in getting almost any of these technologies in place. Iowa State is the only state that I can find with a video podcast. The two that I’ve watched are interviews, but I really liked the 1.17.06 "From earth to the moon, to mars, and beyond." This is an hour video podcast, so expect a long download even with broadband. Use this link (iTunes needed) to find the podcast. If you are interested in space and education, be sure to check it out.
Are the millennials all technology, all of the time? Nope. A t-shirt worth buying is mentioned two-thirds of the way throught the Times article. Its byline: "Ctrl, alt, delete," referring to the need to unconnect from time to time.
The catch is that technology is changing fast, but not as fast as the most recent "hot" websites and blogs. How does Extension reach out and succeed in these areas? One way is start involving millennials in our projects, committees, etc. and let them pull us along. Another is to keep pushing interactive technologies that support social networks – the whole web 2.0 concept.
A last thought. In the final section of the google is discussed as both a verb and a noun. How does this generation (and I would argue most others now too)? Google. It’s not about going to an Extension site and then searching. It’s about the easiest route. And right now that is Google.
Found via the Institute for the Future’s Future Now blog.
Jerry –
We in The Ohio State University Horticulture & Crop Science Department are creating and delivering educational and scientific information using the latest technologies. The Digital Technology Team led by Dr. Tim Rhodus is producing RSS Feeds and podcasts timely educational tips and news about the teaching, research and extension efforts of the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the program. You can subscribe to our podcast via a link on the Ohio State HCS News hompage – http://hcs.osu.edu/news. We also have turfgrass science tips available via rss feeds from http://hcs.osu.edu/sportsturf/notes/rss.lasso and http://hcs.osu.edu/sk/notes/rss.lasso.
There are number of other initiatives we are exploring the include wiki technology, blogging, video podcasts and more. Please contact us to further explore the opportunities available for extending the latest research based information via the iPod, cellphone or laptop.
Cheers,
VIctor
Communications Coordinator
Horticulture & Crop Science Department
The Ohio State University
I can relate to this completely. As a 60 year old I communicate with my 15 year granddaughter by texting. I take about two minutes to construct a sentence and she responds in a few seconds. Its a little frustrating at my end but I understand she gets a kick out of the fact I can do it at all; and she likes it.