Stephen Abram explains this panel of high school students and community college students. He asks, for ethical reasons, that bloggers and Twitterers not mention the students’ names.
First question, what was the last music you listened to and on what device? Answers are pretty wide-ranging, lots of different types of music and devices go from record players (vinyl) to iPods.
How important is brand? Brand not important, cost and quality is.
Phone used for texting, voice and camera. They’re not wearing watches. Keep in touch via Facebook, MySpace, email, phone, but not Twitter.
They expect a better standard of living than their parents.
How are they doing homework? They use Google, Bing, Homework Help, textbooks, federated search engine. One says she gets easily distracted when on computer. Sites that require passwords are more reliable. Use online databases on school website. Look at references to see where the site is getting information from. Look for stamp of approval that says this is OK. They think Wikipedia is pretty accurate, but they understand its limitations and some teachers won’t accept it. They seem to have a healthy skepticism about authority, validity of internet resources and a good understanding of how to evaluate information in electronic form.
They’re not big gamers, but their friends are. Not big online readers, prefer physical books. Politics: they’re not affiliated with any party, don’t see them as distinctive. They’re concerned about environment and distribution of wealth. They volunteer. Naval PostGraduate School hires teens.
Monterey public librarian’s opinions. The library supports the high school, which is only a few blocks away. It also supports middle school. Transformed teen area into more comfortable space. Teens have diverse interests and talents. He’s a gamer, both video and board.
70% overlap between boomers and millenials. They’re smarter than boomers, they communicate very well. They are an engaged population, but not politically engaged.
Marydee Ojala, Editor, ONLINE: Exploring Technology & Resources for Information Professionals
