The Homo Zappiens and its Consequences for Learning in Universities

Abstract

Homo Zappiens is the new generation that is growing up with modern communication technologies shaping their views on the world around them. Prominent characteristics of Homo Zappiens include their preference for images and symbols as an enrichment of plain text, their seemingly effortless adoption of technology, and their cooperation and sharing in networks. They use technology in a functional manner, not touching what they cannot use, and increasingly this generation seems to take exploration and learning and discovering the world, into their own hands. Homo Zappiens shows us that we can increasingly rely on technology to connect us and allow us to organize and preserve our society as a group. In a networked society, the individual has more room for contributing his/her unique value, and innovation and knowledge reside in a network, rather than in each separate individual. Higher education institutions will evolve towards institutions that will function as hubs in knowledge networks, serving students working in fluid communities of research or learning on subjects of their interest. Realizing that we need a flexible structure for organizing ourselves and the world around us, we can look at Homo Zappiens for a clue.