Generation Alpha is in the House; How Can We Prepare Them Today?

Generation Alpha is in the House

How Can We Prepare Them Today?  

Curated by Janet Adams M.A. 

Welcome back to a new year!  So, have you heard of Generation Alpha?  Your preschoolers, kindergartners, first graders, and second graders are the most materially endowed and technologically literate generation to date.  Case in point: According to Amazon.com, four days before Christmas the “most wished for” tablet accessory most often added to all wish lists and registries was the BUDDIBOX iPad Case, a kid-safe product marketed to generation Alpha. And one startup has produced an app which consistently ranks as one of the most downloaded and highest grossing apps since 2015- ABCmouse. Age of Learning (ABCmouse's parent company) is now valued at $1 billion; over one million families subscribe to their educational platform exclusively targeting generation Alpha.

More than 22 million millennial parents live in the U.S., with about 9,000 generation Alpha babies born to them each day. According to social researcher Mark McCrindle, 2.5 million members of Generation Alpha are born every week around the world. 

Who Is Generation Alpha?

Babies born from 2010 are Generation Alpha and many have been in formal schooling since 2015.  That’s not long…Are we ready or are you ready?  The generation years have been disputed.  These are the most popular.  

1946 -1964 Baby Boomers
1965 - 1980 Gen X
1981 - 1994 Gen Y
1995 - 2009 Gen Z
2010 - 2024 Gen Alpha

What Makes Generation Alpha Unique?

1.  These children will come from smaller families.

2.  They have been exposed to many forms of entertainment.

3.  Will already be using many forms of technology.

4.  They will work longer than any other generation and will have a number of careers.

5.  2010, the year the iPad was introduced, Instagram was created and "app" was the word of the year. 

6.  Called "screenager" or the Generation Glass. 

7.  They are not just simple users, but they are born with a "tech thumb".

8.  "They don't think about these technologies as tools," McCrindle says, "They integrate them singularly into their lives."

9.  Fast forward in 2040, when the oldest alpha will be 30.  They will be entrepreneurs.

10.  Teachers in this era, who are digital natives already, will be more open-minded and ready to understand the needs of the Generation Alpha in the new global age.  

Gen Alpha doesn't just use technology, they integrate it into their lives flawlessly. 

Flickr/Paul Mayne

How Can We Prepare Our Generation Alpha Today?

Certainly, the alphas will be living in highly mobile and technologically advanced society, but the focus that we should be directing at is how can we be able to develop this new generation to become the best digital citizen ever to surface on this planet.  Digital citizenship is a necessity to educate, empower, and protect the youths of today.

Begin to Teach the 9 Elements of Digital Citizenship

Download Today and Share with Colleagues

"Passport to Digital Citizenship"

by Mike Ribble 

PDF

1. Digital Access

2. Digital Commerce

3. Digital Communication

4. Digital Literacy

5. Digital Etiquette

6. Digital Law

7. Digital Rights and Responsibilities

8. Digital Health and Wellness

9. Digital Security

Video

"Understanding the Global Generations" 

Mark McCrindle is an award-winning social researcher, best-selling author, and influential thought leader.  Enjoy!

Thoughts:  

Learning about Generation Alpha has been surprising.  I had not heard about this term, Gen Alpha, until I began to research for this Blog.  Pinterest has very few pins, Twitter is limited, and Instagram is quiet.  So, now you know.  Please share what you have learned, create thoughtful lesson plans and invite your school’s IT personnel for suggestions and information.  Be of service to your Gen Alpha students by preparing them early to become outstanding global citizens.  

Thank you,

Janet Adams M.A.
TEC 988 Pinterest for Teachers Instructor
Instagram:  adams_janet
Pinterest: jadams1
Twitter: @sunbirds2

Citations:  

Carter, C. M. (2016, December 16). The Complete Guide To Generation Alpha, The Children Of Millennials. Retrieved August 11, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecarter/2016/12/21/the-complete-guide-to-generation-alpha-the-children-of-millennials/#57de48443623

“Generation Alpha - Embracing Tech in Education.” OneFile, 11 Feb. 2016, www4.onefile.co.uk/latest-news/generation-alpha-embracing-tech-in-education/index.html.

Williams, Alex. “Meet Alpha: The Next 'Next Generation'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Sept. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/09/19/fashion/meet-alpha-the-next-next-generation.html.

Culala, H. “Educating Generation Alpha: What Are the Demands of the 21st Century Workforce?” Academia.edu, 18 Apr. 2016, www.academia.edu/24526330/Educating_generation_alpha_What_are_the_demands_of_the_21st_century_workforce.

“The Importance of Digital Citizenship in Schools.” District Administration Magazine, 17 Oct. 2ADAD, www.districtadministration.com/article/importance-digital-citizenship-schools.

McCrindle, Mark, director. Understanding the Global Generations | How the Generations Are Named and Defined. 2013, youtu.be/iKUdeOwZqZE.

Clarify Your Message: Selling with Story

Clarify Your Message: Why Selling With Story Works

Janet Adams MA

Instructor:  Center for Professional Development 

Reading my morning email is easy.  Glancing right to the Subject header  I click delete, delete, and then..."wait that one sounds interesting".   What about looking for a business on the web?   My dog was looking pretty sad and changing her diet might do the trick.  Each dog food site began with paragraph after paragraph of information.  There was just too much reading and the message was confusing.  I clicked out.  What made me want to read more when I spied that interesting subject line in my email?  Usually, I delete annoying emails and click out of confusing websites.  

One of my all time favorite podcasts is Building a StoryBrand with Donald Miller.  His weekly podcasts are full of easy to use information about clarifying a message on business websites and becoming a better marketer.   The selected guests are amazing business leaders and authors that focus on what works and how a few simple changes will make browsers into buyers.  

Why am I writing about marketing when you may be a teacher?  "What does a marketing podcast have to do with my classroom," you may be thinking?  Plenty!  Do you have to send out parent letters, communications to colleagues, parent night invitations, or you may be maintaining your classroom web?   What about writing instructions for homework so everyone who reads them will understand? Designing bulletin boards headers that create lasting comments may be daunting.  What are you writing and sending out that creates your community to stay on, respond, and share?  

Every day one or all of your students are reading a story.  Did you know that story is the most powerful tool to compel their human brain?   Donald Miller believes story comes from within. People self-identify as the hero in a story that’s trying to accomplish something and overcome challenges. To help you understand how your communication is tied to the elements of a story,  I want to share a video I wrote and produced for the Office of Continuing Education.

Video: Selling With Story, Using the Elements of Story to Market Your Course will help you understand how your communications can be super easy by clarifying your message so that your students, their families, and even your colleagues will read.

Attached are two PDFs that you can download before you watch the video.  

1.  Template created by StoryBrand.com.  One Page Brand Script

2.  Download the super simple worksheet that can be used while watching the video.  

3. VIdeo Selling With Story, Using the Elements of Story to Market Your Course

4. What are you communicating? Who is the hero in your communications? What about your school classroom website? Are you the guide with simple plans that your students understand?

5. If you are a small business owner as in Teachers Paying Teachers, watch with anticipation how simple edits in your marketing language will make all the difference for your browsers becoming buyers.

6. Share with your personal learning networks.

Janet Adams MA

Instructor with CPD, Fresno Pacific University

Course: Pinterest for Teachers

Instagram: adams_janet 

Twitter:  @sunbirds2

Pinterest: jadams1