the net gen goes to college

Times are changing. I agree with the article that the college generation is changing, not because it necessarily has to or wants to, it just did. Everything is the world is so digitalized now. Just the other day I saw someone who could not have been more than 12 years old talking on a cell phone to what sounded like a giddy girlfriend. It was unbelievable. Anyway, I think there should be a balance between traditional and modern instruction and technology in the college environment. Obviously, to keep up with the times, college must cater to the technological needs of students and the necessity of their use. Students who wants to enter the workforce must be able to operate technology such as computers and programs. As a teacher I will have to know how to use power points for my classrooms and spreadsheets for my grading. I need to be able to use them without spending time figuring them out first. Technology is a vital part of college instruction.

But, I think there is something to be said about the preservation of traditional instruction and writing. Reading literature and taking notes and writing essays is a skill that must be learned traditionally first. Technology only enhances that skill in word processing form. Maybe my opinion is a little biased because I myself am not always the most savvy with technology; a little uncomfortable if you will. I know books are online. I know classes are offered online. But I will always be a proponent of human to human teaching, written opinions and exercises, and reading out of textbooks. I'll ask one question to end my blog. When the power at school goes out-which it does at SLU- will you be able to read your online text, or hard copy textbook?