If there’s one thing that we can count on, it is that technology will continue to increase every day. In the last ten years, technology has more than doubled its advancement. One of the most pivotal technological advancements are computers. Those huge box-like things that were used for work and email are now as thin as an inch. The ghetto computers that were used even ten years ago cannot even compare to today’s advanced desktop and laptops. Almost every family owns one or more computers. These new and complex technical devices are used for communication, advertisement, and business.
It is rare to meet a college student that does not have their own computer. It is commonplace for a high school graduate to receive a laptop as a graduation present. Parents buy it for them with the idea that the students can work on their homework and projects in college. College students bring their laptops to class in order to take notes and outline the professor’s presentations. However, some students spend their class time surfing the web instead of taking notes and listening to the lecture.
Everyone knows that if you have a laptop in class, you’re not just going to sit in there making it look like your “actually paying attention”. Yeah right! You’re going to open the internet, start looking on the web, and find something more interesting than your teachers lecture.
Once a student is on the computer and has entered the Internet, they begin their adventure engaging into the outside world. Like the professor from Yale University, William Deresiewicz, stated about his students, “it’s as if they enter cyberspace.” I would have to agree with Deresiewicz that once a student is focused on the computer, they cannot get their eyes off of the screen. It is as if their eyes are glued straight to the computer screen and the outside world does not concern them.
Another professor, Mark Edmundson, from the University of Virginia states that a student’s “Drug of Choice” is a “triple latte.” Edmundson was correct; people are not only in Starbucks to enjoy their coffee, but to interact with the “other-world.” Starbuck’s is a place where students can tune out the “outside world” and become one with the cyberspace.
The professor from Yale University stated that, “student’s bond with their computer.” I would agree with Edmundson on this particular statement. Students choose their own computer because they either find it appealing to them or they can relate to it. I know that when I chose my laptop, that I liked it not only for its appearance but it also fits my personality. A student’s computer is important because it gives them the resources to succeed in college. With today’s technology, students do not have to sacrifice the looks of their laptop for the advanced programs.
Some teachers allow students to bring their laptops to class because they think it is an advantage or another form of learning the material. A teacher gives the students a privilege to bring their personalized “life book” to class hoping that they would use it properly. Teachers take the risk trusting their students by allowing them to use their laptops during class. It is up to the students to make the right decision and use them wisely.
I will have to admit that laptops in class can be a distraction! Whether I am using it or another student is messing around on the laptop. When I have a laptop in front of me, I have the tendency to explore the internet during class. This leads me to lose the focal point of the lecture being presented. When another student is on their laptop, it has a propensity to distract me from my focus on the lecture.
Although computers can be a distraction, they can be an advantage to utilize in college. Computers can be a source of communication with other classmates, professors, and counselors. Students take the benefits of this source and use it to receive a better understanding in class and getting help on a personal or educational matter. I have used different forms of communication to contact my professors and counselors to help me to get either a better understanding of classes of just the whole college experience.
The professor from the University of Virginia mentions Nietche’s quote that “A romantic is somebody who wishes to be elsewhere.” According to Edmundson it is a form of “Ironic Romanticism.” He is correct because like the 19th century Romantics, the users of today’s computers are seeking to escape the hubbub of the industrial world and to a more serene environment. Their journey is different because they don’t physically go to “Walden Pond”, but they just log on and begin the tour in cyberspace. The irony is that they are using the most updated technology available to bond with the computer into cyberspace and begin their trip.
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1 comment:
First sentence isn’t much of a hook.
Internet readers need argument right away – so I’d cut the whole first two paragraphs, because everyone knows that already. You need to give them something they don’t know.
Combine paragraph three and four, and hyperlink to the video.
Both the quotes in P4 and 5 don’t say anything beyond the quote itself. They basically repeat the quote. What can you offer that’s original and thought provoking about their ideas?
TS should begin with your own ideas, not with a quote.
Paragraphs 3 and 8 are the same point. Cut one, or combine.
So point out the irony: these items that are supposed to help with learning, actually detract. Then list the ways they detract, then list how they might actually be able to help (you list the helpful ways in second to last paragraph, but none of them are very surprising – mostly ho-hum type of stuff).
This needs to dig into the essay more and reveal some surprising and interesting thoughts about the topic.
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