Technology in College Education

On Technology in College Education

Personally, I have never been so obsessed with technology that I forget that there was a time when people did do things “the long way” simply because there was no other way available to them to do some things. A common example that my grandparents used on us is our handheld calculators, capable of solving in seconds or minutes what would have taken hours and sometimes days to solve with other means. There are so many similarly useful gadgets

We know that colleges and universities are not only made up of young high school graduates and other young men and women seeking a higher education than they have up until that time received. There are many of the latter generations who are either returning to school in order to complete unfinished degrees, who have just now in their mid to later years of life decided to obtain a higher education, and some of those who just want to be enrolled in a few classes that interest them. Yes, perhaps the majority of students are those young, fast-paced students born and raised with the latest technologies and innovations of our day; but what about those students who feel that they were never meant to adopt and apply this wealth of new technology, and frankly don’t want to be bothered with it either way? An even more interesting question would be to ask how teachers, advisors, librarians and professors are handling the flood of these amazing new resources? How effectively do they use new technology in the classroom, advising appointments, and libraries?

Jennifer Endres and Danielle Tisinger of the University of Minnesota gave some insight on this subject.

“When we meet with students, we should model good behavior by turning off our radios, phone ringers, or computer speakers….We need to make sure that the answers we provide are correct and properly spelled….We should address them in face-to-face conversations and email replies courteously and professionally. We should use teachable moments to reinforce the grammar, spelling, and contextual expectations we have for email and instant messaging.” (Endres)

Endres makes it clear that teachers and advisors are expected to use and apply the same technology being used by the students they are expected to advise or instruct. Whether the student is ahead or behind the times, it is the instructors who are held to the task of assisting all types of students in their specific needs. Additionally, instructors are expected to be an example of academic prowess in their use of these new technologies and to teach students to have the same academic integrity as they would with or without the use of technology.

In truth, it is incredible how we have and do use technology. Computers make communication between students, instructors and advisors almost easy. Cell phones allow us to quickly connect at almost any time or location. With some I-pods students can connect to the internet and download audio or video instructions given by instructors, allowing them to listen while they walk. Students meet and connect with each other faster and to a far greater extent than ever before. The saying “it’s all done online now” is becoming more common. Teachers post announcements, assignments, grades and other information online. Many students take online courses, often eliminating the need for so many instructors. Endres said that students today “prefer web-based resources such as Facebook for forming groups and staying in contact with friends; they turn to iTunes and downloadable media sources for entertainment, and use RateMyProfessors.com and Wikipedia.org as academic resources.” (Endres)

Whatever happens, it is clear that “technology and its applications on college campuses is not going away.” (Endres 1) Technology will only become more present and common among students and instructors as time goes on and more people adopt it into their day to day activities. As long as students and instructors alike use technology appropriately it can be to the advantage of both.

In conclusion, one web site explained the increased motivation students felt when they used technology available to them.

“Teachers talked about motivation from a number of different perspectives. Some mentioned motivation with respect to working in a specific subject area, for example, a greater willingness to write or to work on computational skills. Others spoke in terms of more general motivational effects--student satisfaction with the immediate feedback provided by the computer and the sense of accomplishment and power gained in working with technology”

Truly, technology is beneficial and should continue to be used in and out of the classroom, and teachers should be ready to adjust to the technological needs of all of their students.

WORKS CITED

(1) Endres, J. and Tisinger. D. (2007). Digital Distractions: College Students in the 21^st Century. Retrieved from the NACADA clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources Web site: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Digital-Distractions.htm

(2) http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html

ENGL assignment Introduction to Me :)

Technology and I have a love hate relationship; I love it when it works, hate it when it doesn't. Murphy's Law (that anything that can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible moment) often seems to be manifest when I really need technology to work for me. But more often I am entirely impressed at the myriad of technological uses and innovations that mankind has developed, implemented, and generally adopted worldwide. Most often I tend to glean the now less interesting older models. Coming from a fairly poor family I tend to be two or three generations behind the current technological advances, in some cases, far behind. I did not learn how to text with a cell phone until my late teens and did not own my own cell phone until my early twenties. This has made for some jokes at my expense from those of my friends who are putting down payments for the newest cell phone or other gadget that has yet to even be released to the public. While I have not been so privileged as some in this age of technology, I have been impressed by the incredible effect one simple innovation can have on society as a whole. Throughout my life I can distinctly see the changes that occurred over time. Things changed in look and design, in quality and durability, and in effectiveness. I will compare one outing I had with my family in a crowded amusement park. We made plans early in the day who would be buddies with whom, where and when different groups of my family would meet up. As you can imagine, this made for some excitement when certain groups neglected to arrive at the predetermined locations on time. We would decide how long we would wait before sending someone to go looking for the lost group. All in all this often put a damper on our outings. Our outdoor activities changed when my family finally began to adopt some of the cheaper cell phones and cell plans. We discovered how easy it was to coordinate many small groups over a large area. This significantly lowered the stress level of my parents. There was a tradeoff however. While they less often had to worry about lost kids, my parents now had to worry about making sure that cell phones were charged, that extra batteries were handy, that texting and call minutes were paid for, and implementing cell phone rules for us kids. My parents gladly chose these simple tasks over a higher likelihood of losing children in a crowd, but I’ve noticed in many of my peers that they simply get bogged down in technology. The sheer amount of time spent on use, upkeep and update for all their myriad of gadgets. I mean, how do you have time to use all this stuff? And at such an astronomical price brand new I can see why someone would feel badly for not using their nearly $300+ IPod Touch. It’s no wonder that you would feel obligated to fill its potential 32 GB storage with as many apps as you can find.

My family has moved several times over the years and I have lived in three states and two countries. I remember trying to “keep in touch” with all of my friends via e-mail. The number of e-mail conversations I was attempting to maintain was no longer as fun as it had been. In fact it had become an arduous chore. The wait for a reply was often surprisingly long in some cases. I finally broke down and threw out my resolve never to open a Facebook account. I had over 50 confirmed additions to my friends list over the first 24 hours of opening my account on Facebook; over the next week I had over 200. After almost two years of activity I have gleaned over 500 friends and some 200 acquaintances totaling a good 700 connections. This is absolutely ridiculous. I thought I was making it easier on myself by switching to Facebook. Still, I’m not complaining so much as I am stating the absolute awesome power that we now possess as human beings to adopt new technology. I wonder sometimes if people are actually physically addicted to the chase of “the newest fad” in technology. I can only imagine what the future holds for my children.