Teaching the Google‐eyed YouTube generation

The purpose of this paper is to report on how the University sector in the UK has undertaken a massive transformation over recent years, resulting in a current mass market. Institutions (and their managers) are facing enormous challenges to establish competitive advantages whilst attending to customer need and focus. A smarter, cost‐effective, lean teaching and learning environment needs to evolve in order for UK universities to compete in a flatter global educational market place.

Adopting an action research methodology the paper seeks to analyze how much‐hyped Web 2.0, which moves away from static “read only” web sites to those which are “read‐write” and interactive and are clearly here to stay. An eclectic mix of multi‐media technology and social networking, blogs, Wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds, social software, broadband and megalithic search engines are changing the way people live – and learn.

This paper considers and highlights opportunities for increasing operational efficiency, from a personal perspective, based on a blended approach to technology enhanced learning by creating a 24/7 learning environment for the Google‐eyed YouTube generation. The challenges of teaching large groups of students from a very diverse range of backgrounds and abilities are also discussed.

This article balances interests in the immense potential of Web 2.0 in teaching and learning, with concern for the limitations of the technology.