Who Were the Students, Who Are the Students, Who Will Be the Students?
Age Range in 2016 Name of the Generation Technology Development During Birth Years
51 to 73 Boomers 1943—ENIAC used plug boards and switches for programming, occupied more than 1000 square feet, used about 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighed 30 tons.
1964—Digital Equipment Corporation launch the 12-bit PDP-8, the first successful commercial minicomputer.
35 to 50 Gen X 1965—The Victor 3900 the first desktop calculator is available.
1981—The first IBM Personal Computer is released with a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 microprocessor.
19 to 34 Millennials 1982—The personal computer was Time’s “Machine of the Year.” The article was written on a typewriter, but Time was planning to upgrade the office to word processors within the year.
1990—The first web browser is invented. 42% of American adults have used a computer at some point.
1998—Apple releases the iMac with a 233-MHz G3 processor, 4GB hard drive, 32 MB of RAM, a CD-ROM drive, and a 15″ monitor.
0 to 18 Post-Millennial 1999—41% of adults are using the internet.
2008—75% of Americans are using the internet.
2016—88.5% of Americans use the internet
2015—Almost two thirds of American adults (64%) own a smartphone of some type.
Sources: <http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/03/11/world-wide-web-timeline/#2008>.; <http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline>; <http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/16/this-year-millennials-will-overtake-baby-boomers/>; <http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/chapter-one-a-portrait-of-smartphone-ownership/>; http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/us/.
• Using the web as an exploratory tool to access the wealth of information available
• Offering learners a comprehensive learning experience
• Engaging learners
• Empowering learners to take charge of their own learning1