Various studies affirm that generation Z or the so-called centennials they have become the owners of a revolution that no longer has limits. This group, born between January 1995 and December 2003, is the first generation with a clear awareness of globality, the democratization of society and the unstoppable rise of technology within our world. Universities face the challenge of offering them an attractive and stimulating education that motivates them and moves them away from traditional methods, since currently 9 out of 10 young people centennials they prefer online education.
For Lucero Quero, a marketing professor at the Technological University of Mexico (UNITEC), distance education is generating greater acceptance among the new generations because it offers greater schedule flexibility and this allows them to enter the labor market more quickly.
“Generation Z has a different perspective because they have grown up in the middle of the whole digitization process. They have a need for autonomy and financial independence. For this reason, their interests make them live at a much faster speed than the rest. This generation has forced us to evolve and, as an educational institution, we have adapted to the new needs of our students”, mentions the teacher Quero.
According to UNITEC, the modalities of study in the educational sector, worldwide, show that 50% of students choose virtuality and the other 50% still prefer face-to-face; however, the percentage of distance education is expected to rise in the medium term, surpassing traditional education. In this line, UNITEC has been constantly training its entire teaching staff so that they can teach classes 100% remotely to students who even live in other countries in the region.
Tools that drive e-learning
With the advent of e-learning and the digitization of educational processes, tools that facilitate distance education have been implemented. The use of e-books, the collaborative rooms of the student platforms, video conferences and connectivity allow students to connect from anywhere in the world through their mobile devices.
“We have analyzed the technology consumption statistics and the new generations remain connected to their mobile devices for more than 8 hours. Today, technology is the main tool to solve day-to-day activities. Our obligation, as a house of higher education, was to adapt to the new processes and the ways of consumption of our students to reduce gaps and encourage personal development”, comments the UNITEC teacher.
To ensure quality education, UNITEC has also implemented processes that help cultivate interaction between student and teacher, such as class recordings as study material, question spaces for students, virtual counseling, and answers to doubts with no time. greater than 48 hours. Likewise, all the information is saved automatically with the student’s identification code and the educational mail.
