Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Journal #1

Finding new ways to connect: Professors adjust their methods to reach technology-savvy generation. By Eleanor Yang Su

This article makes the good point of how fast technology is advancing. The younger generations are growing up with so much technology at hand it has become second nature to them. Teachers and Professors are smart enough to realize they have to keep up and attempt to use this same technology to their advantage. For professors who don't, not only will learning be minimized but i feel the student will lose a certain amount of respect for the teacher. Teachers need to exude a grasp of knowledge and when a student is capable of a higher grasp of technology the student may wonder, what else does the teacher lack?
In and out of the class room students of the new generation or the "millenial generation" are constantly using new technology, claiming that even Email is out of date. With the use of these advances multi-tasking is an everyday occurrence. One of the students Su wrote about claimed she limited her online chatting while in class, she did not stop her chatting but limited it. The attitude of students has not changed , most still try to get away with as much as they can but the way in which to do so has become much easier and efficient.

Question 1: Where does one draw the line between teaching and entertaining? I feel it depends on the subject matter but as long as a student can retain relevant information it is learning.

Question 2: With multi-tasking becoming such a everyday thing and responses happening so fast are we further "spoiling" our youth with a need for instant gratification? I seems that waiting is a thing of the pass (unless one drives in San Diego County). But perhaps this is the way of the future and as long a persistence is valued there should be no social deterioration.

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