What+do+you+think?

"More colleges, professors shutting down laptops and other digital distractions" []

This article states arguments for why colleges and professors are against laptops in the classroom. What is your opinion?


 * Rebecca:** I understand the professors' stance on laptops in the classroom - they can be distracting and could hamper students from processing the information being presented. I don't think it'll really matter whether the professors ban laptops or not. The problem does not lie in the technology, rather the attitude of the students. A student taking notes by pen and paper could easily be distracted by doodling on their notebook, day dreaming, texting, etc. Students who do not take their education seriously have a problem that cannot be fixed by increased regulation or being berated by the professor. It is the students' prerogative to be successful or not.

Is Google making us smarter?


 * = **Yes** ||= ** 2 ** ||
 * = **No** ||= 3 ||
 * = **Not sure** ||= ** 3 ** ||

I saw this question as I was looking for some answers on Google...how ironic!! What do you think??

Kory is unsure because we can find so much amazing information and build our knowledge base, but we don't necessarily need to retain it because we can always go back and search it again.

Tina thinks it does not make us smarter as much as it makes us lazy. It also takes us away from using actual books (i.e. encyclopedias, almanacs, etc.). It is similar, in my mind, to the difference between sending a letter through the mail and just sending an e-mail.

Matt Stone thinks that it makes us smarter. It makes us gods of information. We can find whatever we want, literally pretty much anything, just by searching for a topic. Additionally, the speed at which it makes said information available is unparalleled. For example, when I recently discovered that I was baptized Schwenkfelder, I immediately did a google search, and wouldn't you know it, one of the first 2 things that came up was a fairly detailed description of the Schwenkfelder church community in PA (thanks google and wikipedia :^). While using the computer might reduce time spent reading a physical book, you still have to read the search results and content that comes up on whatever you're looking for, so you are still partaking in the activity of reading, just in a different way. Also, don't mistake convenience for laziness. You could probably get to work by riding a bike instead of driving in a car, but you still take the car due to convenience.

David is unsure because Google is enabling both instant gratification and convenience. Google saves both time and effort in locating information. We don’t have to think to use Google the way we used to have to figure out how to track down information. However, we can access information much faster than ever before.

I think that using Google and other forms of online information gathering is useful, but when I was working on my Master of Music in Conducting and had to use the library, I had forgotten a lot of how to do that sort of hands-on, in-depth research with non-digital media. Much of what I did for the classes invovled with that program had to be done in the library at the school, and the sources were not available online. Much of the problem is that the internet is so unregulated, but the books and sources you find in a library setting have been checked, that you need to be vigilant in checking out your sources obtained online. - Geoff Burns

Amy is unsure. I guess I should have posted my discussion response here! Still trying to get the hang of this wiki! I won't re-write what I wrote, no one wants to read it twice! See my discussion post for my response :)

 Christine added her two cents that google is making us smarter. It certainly is making information more accessible and with this new accessibility comes more knowledge. Think about how difficult it was to research a topic when you had to go to a library, find the right reference section, then spend hours trying to find the answer to your question. With that much effort involved, I'm sure many people would just go on not bothering to look into the topic further. Now, people can access information so easily through google and the internet that they can research a topic even if they are in the middle of a conversation with someone. I personally take the time now to look it up. You just have to be careful when doing so to make sure your source is accurate.

[|PBS says...]