Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 4

Internet Learning Volume 3 Number 2 - Fall 2014
Letter from the Editor
Dr. Melissa Layne, Ed.D.
Fall 2015 Issue
Without a doubt, this fall has been one of the busiest, as we continue to see
our Internet Learning Journal readership and author submissions grow.
These increasing numbers are a testament to our excellent marketing team,
promotional efforts at conferences, invited webinars, workshops, and meetings with other
university leaders outside of APUS. It’s been an absolute pleasure talking to people inside
and outside of academe and sharing the evolution of our journal—from our humble
beginnings of a print and web-based publication to a multi-platform and interactive
scholarly publication. That said, the impetus behind this transformation has not been
openly shared…until now.
On my way back from a recent trip to South Africa (and consequently having several hours
of flight time), I picked up the airline-hosted magazine, Sawubona--which in the Zulu
language translates to “Hello” or “Good day.” I always like flipping through this particular
magazine during my trips over because it is a wonderful collection of articles on just about
everything---food and wine, business, sports, lifestyle, leisure, art, fashion--and of course
my favorite topic…technology. So on this flight, instead of opening up to the beginning,
I cheated and went straight to the technology section article entitled “Generation Z: the
digital game-changers” and knew right away I was in for a treat.
Although I was already somewhat familiar with the newest kids on the block (dubbed Gen
Z-ers), the author of this article describes them in candid detail. They bear no resemblance
to the Millennial generation, nor are they like any other generation that begat them. Here
are just a few of Dion Chang’s (author)
observations on Gen Z-ers. They
• range in age from 13-17
• are online researchers
• are extremely creative
• are realists
• live in a world of cyberspace and their toys are videos
and mobile platforms
• are adaptive
• are visual communicators (emoticons and emojis)
Toward the end of the article, he summarizes their world as one of “start-up entrepreneurship,
new apps (daily), customization, on-demand everything and making their own pocket
money from YouTube.” I was so fascinated by this article, I believe I’ve read it at least 5 or 6
times thus far.
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