Driving the Tech Revolution – Millennials of Today
Millennials – Harbingers of the Technological Revolution
Yes, it is the millennial population that is driving the demand for all industries to embrace the use of technology. They are a population who have not just grown up with technology but were born into it. Hence, they are comfortable learning and adapting to changes and upgradations in it. Changes in app interfaces, new digital products and updates to software they regularly use – these are a matter of daily engagements for the millennials, who don’t mind these changes. Whatever helps make digital transactions simpler, they are up for it. This is the generation that operates from the comfort of the laptop screens and smartphones, carrying their entire world with themselves.
Statistics have revealed that in less than a decade, millennials will make up about 75% of our workforce. And hence, not just workplaces, but even education set-ups need to wake up to the needs and demands of the millennials.
How Education Needs to Evolve to Answer Millennial Demands
There is a need to better understand the digital natives and redesign our pedagogy basis their needs and the dynamic demands of the landscape they traverse. Here are some points on how education needs to evolve to meet the millennial demands:
- Tech Integration
Millennials require classrooms that are buzzing with visual, interactive and stimulating learning experiences. Tech integration in the classrooms can lead these changes, along with creating an opportunity for further innovation, and of course, fun.
- Gamify the E-Learning Experience
Millennials grew up immersed in a gaming culture. Gaming consoles, such as Nintendo, PlayStation, and have been the rage. Theirs is a competitive group who are particularly fond of leaderboards and constantly crushing opponents in an aggressive gaming zone. Gamification will surely help them learn and retain information in a better way. Hence, the emphasis should be on designing learning modules which bring some kind of play in everyday education.
- Challenging Assignments
Further, to tap into their bent, it is vital to offer students meaningful and challenging assignments. The millennial generation is quick to ‘switch off’ if they do not feel engaged. Those assignments should be intriguing enough to stir up their cognitive abilities. Therefore, it’s essential to offer them a challenge, an obstacle that they must overcome. It can come in form of an interactive story that evokes emotion and ties into a real-world problem. The main goal is to make learning compelling and unusual so that they can put their problem-solving skills to work.
- Drive Learning with a Purpose
Above all else, the millennial group needs a purpose to learn. They will become active participants if they know that their learning ties into a real-world purpose. Learning, when driven from their context, and used to bring about social impacts through creative problem solving and critical thinking, excites students. As they go on to explore the world on their own terms, it is good to give these global citizens a purpose early on in life, one they can tie their future aspirations too.
Thus, transforming education boils down to developing products and tools that when integrated with the conventional classroom answer the individual needs and demands of each millennial.
Sir, the best part about your blogs is that they always offer a new perspective that helps in widening my thinking capacity.
Loved reading your blog, Sir! Always offers me great insights!
Millennials are going to constitute the future workforce and they need to be digitally literate. Ed-tech allows them to be exactly that. Looking forward for your next blog Sir!
Amazing write-up Sir! I agree with you that Millennials need to be cognizant about their purpose of learning, and then only they’ll be able to make significant changes
Very well written Sir! I agree with you completely. I am a full supporter of tech-based learning and just like you; I too believe it is the need of the hour.
Sir, the best part about your blogs is that they always offer a new perspective that helps in widening my thinking capacity.