Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, Volume 23, Number 4

In Michael Wesch's (2007) now widely seen video "A Vision of Students Today" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o), a camera pans across a large, traditional classroom where college students hold up messages about themselves as members of the current generation of learners, who have been dubbed Millennials (Howe & Strauss, 2000). The video captures some of the most notable characteristics of students today; their learning styles and needs, their hopes and dreams, and the changes they can expect to see during their lifetimes. What emerges clearly from the video is a disconnect between what and how students today often are taught and what and how they want and need to learn.