Videos

Maybe it is just the natural progression of things, but is anyone else the least bit freaked by how much we depend on technology? In this ever-changing, constantly evolving world we have become so reliant upon technology that life as we know it would not be possible without technological advances. Every single day the world is becoming more and more complex. The second video uses the internet as an example of this increasing complexity. The explosion of information that we refer to as the internet had a much more humble beginning. Now the internet, and the computer for that matter, is used in ways that just a few years ago would have been unheard of. It is a rare occurrence when a computer is used solely for word processing tasks in this day and age. Instead, computers have become our link to the entire world. Computers are our backstage pass to encountering countless forms of learning. Beyond the mundane tasks, computers allow users to watch videos, send e-mail, reference maps, locate information, hold “face-to-face” conversations, post blogs, listen to music and so much more. We could not function as a people or a society if we were suddenly forced to forgo all computer use. Perhaps it is as the video stated, “the machine is us.”

I think the first video was an accurate portrayal of college life for the university students of today. Practically every activity the students said that they participated in on a daily basis was directly connected to technology. Whether theses students were texting, watching TV, surfing the web, or watching video clips they were very much involved with technology. The video started off in a lecture hall, not so different from our very own Lind Lecture Hall. The students gave an approximate break-down of their lives and the time they spend doing various activities. If these are the activities that constitute technology for university students, what will our future look like? If students are the leaders of tomorrow, yet they are content to fritter their class time away instead of engaging in learning what will this mean to the future of our world? If students are supposed to be bettering themselves in the university classroom in order to meet the challenges of the future with the upper-hand, they cannot afford to waste their time and money. The distraction of the classroom is technology.

At Weber State we are lucky to have small class sizes. However, the problem of other universities may not be their large class sizes. Their problem may be that technology is allowed to get in the way of learning. In my anatomy class there are only five students, but it is the teacher’s policy to prohibit the use of laptops because of the distraction they cause. For these reasons anatomy is a very enjoyable, interactive class. This result would not be possible if technology were allowed in the classroom. This is the old-fashioned way of doing things, but like the video stated “if we learn by what we do... what are we doing sitting here?”