Hao, Jiayin: Beloit List

The world is changing. People can see the differences and similarities in society by comparing students to older faculty. However, it is much easier to analyze the situation from an Internet perspective.

There are many differences between today’s students and older faculty. There is no doubt that people who were born before 1980 have different life values compared to people who were born in the Internet era. However, this disparity leads to student change. Older faculty don’t have the tech tools to teach so that it is possible for students to miss words during the class lectures because they are playing their iPhones or Macs. People born before 1980 used only books and notebooks in class. Instead of these, students today use laptops to take notes and have Kindle to read books. Both are much more convenient and save time and energy. Even so, there still are disadvantages to technology. Some students use Facebook and Twitter during class. Sometimes, their cell phones ring during class. It seems like students today acquire knowledge more from technology and less from time spent in class. Even the attitude of going to school has changed. In the past, many students didn’t have enough motivation to go to school. It was not a big deal if they stayed at home instead of going to school every day. Nowadays, it seems like a regular and certain thing to accept education and go to class. Society is making progress. Also, knowledge itself keeps changing and self-correcting over time. The things that happened during the lives of older faculty have become a part of history.

On the other hand, there are some similarities between the past and now. The purposes for attending school are still the same. It is to achieve a better future, although students now use different tools when they study. It is always exciting for them to try new things. Older faculty were curious and desired to computers but they were primitive. Nowadays, students use iPads in class and look forward the next generation of the iPhone. The passion for new stuff is always the same. All students like to try new things. Also, communication between the teacher and the students are quite similar. Although students use e-mails and Blackboard to connect with teachers, face-to-face talking is still the most common and important way to ask help and questions of your teacher.

Education is making progress. It is a good thing to adapt to a changing world. For students who study in today’s schools, it is important to learn the past time and to take advantage of the new hi-tech products. In this way, students will study better.