Article content continued

For example, blended learning classes, that integrate in-person and online elements, like a second-year law class she was enrolled in last year, were more engaging for Wronko.

She completed a midterm for the class on her laptop, while sitting on her couch.

“I could take my learning with me wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted. It became more convenient to be engaged,” she said.

It’s hard for her to imagine a world where classes had no online elements.

“The thing that just boggles my mind is when I hear about how education was prior to technology,” she said. “All my life I’ve had email. I’ve always been able to Skype someone if I had to make eye contact with them.”

Universities must pay more attention to students’ digital learning methods in high school to get their head around new ways of student-learning, said Vickie Cook, professor at the University of Illinois in Springfield.

Cook, who teaches in the school’s college of education, has focused some of her research on Generation Z and their characteristics. She encourages Generation Z students to sometimes teach others in her class, in an effort to engage them.

Her research shows this age group wants to use technology in a meaningful way, to solve global issues and not merely for personal use.

She also encourages the use of media in classrooms, include hand-held video and “lightboards” — glass chalkboards that can be integrated with online classes.

“It’s easy to buy the next shiny thing that comes out, but there has to be a purpose to it,” said Cook.