Visual learning styles among digital natives
Abstract
This study explored the concept of digital nativity and its educational implications, including application of the learning styles hypothesis. The concept of digital natives, first put forth by Marc Prensky, introduced the notion that individuals raised in a technological environment have developed in such a way as to utilize information differently than the non-native generations before them. This study examined the possibility that these differences may include an increased efficiency in the utilization of narrative imagery versus textual information. The potential benefit of utilizing narrative imagery as an instructional tool is discussed. An experimental test application was developed for the purpose of identifying any relevant learning trends among the digital native subject pool tested in this study. The results of this experiment were statistically analyzed to reveal the significance of the research. This analysis suggested a possible trend toward multimodal learning styles in the subject pool as well as indicating that digital natives may in fact utilize visual information more efficiently than textual information, reducing the training time requirement by nearly half.
Degree
M.S.
Advisors
Burton, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Information Technology|Educational psychology
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