A Vision of Students Today

In a world where time is becoming increasingly scarce, students are continually being forced to learn, or perhaps the better word is cram, information into their brains just as we have begun to cram 25-30 hours of work into one day.  I believe that there are two fundamental concepts presented in the video above.  The first pertains time compression and the other deals with how we, students of the United States, are learning. 

Ever since students began to bring their laptops to class professors have been expecting more and more out of their students.  They assign readings and assignments that couldn't possibly be completed in the alloted time, forcing students to multitask and put work more than they can feasibly fit into a day.  It would be wrong to assume that professors are entirely at fault for this ungodly occurrence.  Personally, I feel that improved technology may be largely to blame for the time compression that students are now bombarded with everyday of their lives.  Over the past several years computer technology has made rapid advancements. Microprocessors and memory expansion have dramatically increased computers capabilities to perform multiple functions all at the same time.  Although helpful in reducing the amount of time that it takes to complete tasks, I believe that computers have now created a standard by which humans are also judged.  This time standard is not healthy for anyone and should be abolished.  Sadly, I can only see it strengthening in the future. 

The second issue is probably a little less controversial and a little more bewildering.  Technology's rapid growth and expansion has done a lot for society, increasing productivity and reducing transaction costs across the board.  Yet, students still sit down in a lecture hall and take notes down that are written on an overhead that shines on a screen above their heads.  What's more, books are still books.  At the beginning of the semester I bought a book for spanish and I've written in it once.  I paid 45 dollars for that book. What a waste.  It seems that professors and universities alike should be working together to change the conventional classroom students have been trapped in into something of the 21st century. Who knows?  Hopefully we'll get somewhere someday, I think smart classrooms are a start, but there's still a long way to go from there.