Duke, Taylor: Beloit List

Most people my age have an iPhone.   An iPhone is a device that allows access to the Internet with the click of a button or to write a text message by tapping on a touch screen.  My best friend, my boyfriend, and my roommate each have one and use them as their lifeline. Without them they would be lost in a dark abyss, far away from society.  But I’m doing just fine without a “smart phone” and so are many of the people I rely on to give me a quality education.

             

The generation that includes many of my professors is more apt to have students read from an outdated textbook or e-mail them instead of presenting a PowerPoint presentation or posting on their Facebook walls.  According to Bruce Krajewski, “[older] faculty members are regarded by many parents, administrators, and state legislators as lazy, inefficient, and unaccountable. If it were not for all the work the faculty members must do, they would have the time to live down to those expectations” (The 2011 Mind-Set of Faculty (Born Before 1980)).  Krajewski makes a valid argument basically stating that if these faculty members did not take the time to teach and refer back to other forms of technology other than Internet and “Blackboard,” then a sense of hard work would be lost in today’s learning system.  Blackboard and PowerPoint’s provide an easy source of knowledge, but when students look for something and take the time to do the research without receiving it at the touch of a button, they feel a sense of accomplishment.  Also, the professors are doing their part in guaranteeing that their students do not become lazy and rely on technological advances to do everything for them. 

           

On the other end of the spectrum, the current generation is still experiencing the early stages of 21^st century technology and learning as it grows, step by step.  Really, they are not that different from their elders when it comes to growing and living in the same, ever-changing environment.  Many of my teachers have iPhones and I do not.  What does that say about society?  It simply implies that the “Internet Class” (Beloit College Mind-Set List) and the older generation are very similar.  The only real differences are taste and methods of teaching.  According to Don Troop, “their [students] schools’ ‘blackboards’ have always been getting smarter” (Beloit College Mind-Set List).  Professors born before 1980 are more likely to use a dry-erase board, cart projector, or a chalkboard rather than a Smart Technologies Smartboard, tablet, or hanging projector.  But, in all cases students are being taught the same material.

 I had the opportunity to ask my mother if she thought professors expected too much of their students.  She replied that sometimes professors can expect too much because they depend on students already to have computers or other latest technology on which to do a lot of their homework and studies, and professors rely on them to look up too much information on the Internet rather than lecturing and referring to textbooks.   I believe that a lot of what she says is true.  My classmates and I are easily stressed as we try to complete the most impossible of tasks and breathe a sigh of relief when we receive a “satisfactory” grade.  These satisfactory grades cause professors to believe we are just lazy and do not use technology wisely.  When will professors realize that they are expecting too much when they see their students are not doing well in class?  As technology exceeds expectations, students fall short of their professor’s.  The iGap becomes more prominent and more problems evolve.