Technology and Millennials
Multimedia technologies must be incorporated into effective training programs because:
 Expectation: Millennials expect technology because they use it so much.
o By 21 millennials have spent 10,000 hours playing video games, 200,000 on email, 20,000 hours watching TV, 10,000 hours on cell phones, and less than 5,000
hours reading.
o 80% of millennials sleep with their cell phone next to the bed.
 Effectiveness: Millennials do better when education models incorporate technology.
o Students scored better on tests when instructors incorporated technology through
online learning, forums, and other ways.
o Innovative technologies increase student satisfaction.
The M2M program incorporates technology in a way that responds to millennials’ use of
and desire for technology-supported education. The average member of the Net Generation will,
by the age of 21, have spent 10,000 hours playing video games, 200,000 on e-mail, 20,000 hours
watching TV, 10,000 hours on cell phones, and less than 5,000 hours reading (Bonamici et al.,
2005). Technology has become so incorporated into daily life that 80% of millennials sleep with
their cell phone next to the bed (US Chamber of Commerce, 2012). As a result of these changes
in the way millennials interact with technology, traditional models of education and coaching
that make little or no use of technology do not work effectively. In various settings, researchers
have found that students not only prefer using technology to learn, but also do better when those
preferences are met (Basawapatna & Repenning, 2010; Vincelette, 2013). Breck (2004)
explained that technology is a way of making sense of the world, one that is fundamentally
interactive. M2M builds on this research and incorporates two main types of technology: stateof-the art video recording and display and immediate feedback.
Video recording has long been found to improve performance (Mills & Pace, 1989). As
video recording has become cheaper, easier, and nearly ubiquitous in today’s world, it has been
increasingly used. For example, Manwaring and Kovach (2012) have studied the use of video
recordings in teaching negotiation. They found that the use of recordings increased students’
self-awareness and analytical skills. This confirms findings of other studies on the usefulness of
video recording to facilitate reflection and shift self-perception (Bordone 2000; Fukkink,
Trienekens, and Kramer, 2011). M2M integrates video recording technology with state-of-the-art
display screens to provide the proven benefits of recording and increase immersion in the
experience. Large TV screens—120”—will enable speakers to watch themselves speaking in
addition to seeing how their peers respond. Research on screen size has found that bigger screen
displays help students learn vocabulary better (Kim & Kim, 2012), aid memory, and increase
attention (Heo, 2003). Work with gamers has also found that bigger screen sizes lead to a more
favorable impression on the part of the player, produce more positive moods, and result in higher
feelings of self-presence (Hou et al., 2012). While watching oneself can be discomfiting,
scholars are finding that millennials are much more comfortable with digital and audiovisual
technology (Pew Research Center, 2010), perhaps because of the prevalence of You Tube,
selfies, and social media.
In addition to maximizing the impact of recording and display, M2M uses technology to
provide learners with immediate feedback from their peers. These peers provide immediate
feedback via tablets by rating specific skills on a 7-point scale. Individual responses are
aggregated and averaged to preserve anonymity. In addition they provide anonymous Twitterlength messages identifying the key message of a speech that speakers receive immediately after
finishing. This use of communication technology appeals to millennials because it provides
feedback immediately. Research has shown that millennials have an immediate need for
response and gratification (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005). Meister and Willyerd (2010) have
advocated for the use of what they call microfeedback or near instantaneous, Twitter-length
responses to specific inquiries. M2M both incorporates this suggested best practice and builds on
it by targeting it to specific skills and providing students with feedback from all of their peers in
the session.
-By Amanda D. Taylor
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