Preparing for Generation Alpha in the Age of AI

Kevin Corcoran, Assistant Vice Provost of the Center for Distributed Learning and Rebecca McNulty, Instructional Designer, Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida

Kevin Corcoran, Assistant Vice Provost of the Center for Distributed Learning and Rebecca McNulty, Instructional Designer, Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida

Emma Prineas is the marketing director at Navitas Skilled Futures, bringing over 20 years of global marketing experience to the role. With a background in tourism and a passion for refugee advocacy, she leads community-driven campaigns that promote accessible, outcomes-focused education for multicultural and multilingual adult learners across Australia.

Technology is reshaping both the way we teach and the learners we serve. To prepare for Generation Alpha, higher education must rethink its roles, systems, and strategies to meet expectations of a connected, personalized world. Born between 2010 and 2024, Gen Alpha has grown up in a digital landscape shaped by algorithmic recommendations, artificial intelligence, and bite-sized media content. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Roblox, and Minecraft have influenced their learning through creative, social, and immersive experiences. These habits reflect a digital world where technology delivers immediacy and peers provide constant feedback, reinforcing a strong preference for authenticity and connection. Although Gen Alpha engages closely with content creators, AI’s disruption of creativity challenges educators to help students build the agency to create for them. This shift prompts a closer examination of whether conventional classrooms can sustain the authenticity and engagement Gen Alpha values and expects.

Preparing for Gen Alpha begins with a commitment to readiness, calling on faculty to shift practices, institutions to adapt systems, and students to build the skills necessary for personalized, human-centered learning in the age of AI.

Faculty Readiness: Guiding Creativity, Integrity, and Engagement

Gen Alpha values collaboration, immediacy, and content that feels real and relatable. They often seek help from peers before turning to instructors. In response, faculty should design environments where peer exchange and creative expression are intentional and expected, including:

• Student-led forums to promote agency and reflection

• Peer feedback cycles for writing, projects, or media assignments

• Co-created guidelines for AI that support transparency and human connection

To implement these approaches, faculty requires both technology literacy and digital agility to understand how tools shape engagement and learning. Faculty should be familiar with:

• Learning management systems and mobile apps

• AI-powered tools for feedback and analytics

• Interactive platforms that reflect expectations for gamified learning

“The future of learning is not student versus faculty versus AI, but all three working together”

Agility means aligning tools with learning goals, not just adopting features. As AI becomes embedded in education, it challenges traditional assessment and heightens the need for authenticity. If we expect students to produce meaningful, original work, faculty must resist outsourcing that same responsibility to automated courseware. Supporting Gen Alpha calls for collaboration, purposeful use of technology, and clear approaches to AI that foster shared responsibility and creative agency

Institutional Readiness: Reengineering the Ecosystem

Institutions must match classroom innovation with systemic change. Gen Alpha expects speed, ease, and access. To meet these expectations, institutions will need to demonstrate flexibility, transparency, and thoughtful design. Gen Alpha will not ask whether higher education is “worth it.” Instead, they will want to know what it offers that they cannot find anywhere else. With AI, YouTube, and free online learning available, institutions will need to emphasize their unique value, such as:

• Human mentorship and authentic relationships

• Experiential learning with real-world relevance

• Verified credentials for clear career pathways

To support this value proposition, institutions must also modernize infrastructure and operations, with key investments in:

• Mobile-first platforms and intuitive course design

• 24/7 support from chatbots and humans

• Predictive systems that support planning and progress

Aligning infrastructure with student engagement requires close collaboration between academic affairs, IT, and student services, alongside dedicated support for faculty development. By reengineering flexible systems, institutions can meet Gen Alpha’s expectations while reinforcing the value of a college experience.

Student Readiness: Building Ethical Agency

Student readiness begins with recognizing that digital fluency does not guarantee critical thinking or ethical use. In response, Gen Alpha will need structured opportunities to practice digital citizenship and build habits of thoughtful decision-making. Instead of banning tools or relying on faulty detection software, educators should invite students into guided discussions, addressing:

• When to encourage, limit, or restrict the use of AI tools

• How to balance originality with remix culture and intellectual property

• Ways to reflect on both process and product

These conversations also lay groundwork for the collaborative spaces where Gen Alpha already thrives. Institutions can build on that instinct by supporting:

• Guided inquiry and collaborative problem-solving

• Critique and improvement of AI-generated content

• Co-creation of artifacts with impact beyond the classroom

To navigate AI responsibly, students will need to develop literacy in evaluating privacy, bias, and limitations. Institutions that support this growth will help Gen Alpha move from consumers to ethical, capable creators.

Preparing for Gen Alpha is not a future need. If we expect students to rethink the creation of meaningful work, institutions will need to do the same.

The future of learning is not student versus faculty versus AI, but all three working together. Education must become a co-evolutionary process that reimagines institutions as partners growing alongside students to support learning that is flexible, ethical, and deeply human.