A Vision of Students Today

This post is going to comment on a video on Youtube created by mwesch called "A Vision of Students Today." It's very thought-provoking, in part because the actual message of the video is ambiguous. One thing is clear though in the video - our generation is going to inherit some of the greatest problems any generation has ever inherited and the education that we are currently receiving in our colleges and universities is not preparing us for them. But what is at fault here? The education system itself because it is outdated and not in tune with the multi-tasking, Web 2.0 style life that we are living today? Or is it technology's fault for having given us some sort of jaded apathy towards life? Or is it both?

I can only speak for myself, being a freshman within the college system and here are my thoughts: I have been guilty of some of the things mentioned in the video, including not cracking open books that I have paid a lot of money for, bringing my laptop to class and not using it for class things, and not reading as many books as I would like. On the other hand, I don't like Facebook, I don't like Flickr, I can't see myself wasting time uploading pictures and tagging them, if given the chance, I will take lunch and Starbucks with a friend over Facebooking anyday. Yet on the other, other hand, I have managed to connect with very old, long-lost friends over Facebook and being connected to the internet means that I am always one click away from finding out information about whatever puzzles me at the moment. With this, I can only come to one conclusion and that is that neither classical learning nor technology are the bane nor the cure-all for all our problems. Rather, I think everything should be taken in moderation and in "smart" moderation - that means each method should be used only to enhance your learning and living experience. That means not spending your life among the bookshelves nor spending your life on your Facebook page. Rather, use either when appropriate and advantageous - I can only hope we have the common sense to do so.

Facebook Cheating

Oh, how scary and disturbing this article is - get this, kid starts Facebook study group for homework, gets caught, and is now in the process of being expelled. Yep, EXPELLED. For starting a Facebook study group, in which, it is important to note, no final solutions were even actually exchanged. If a kid gets expelled for that, then all and any of us who have ever called a friend for homework help or studied in a group together should be scared out of our pants right now. And on a further note, I seriously sometimes puzzle the no-collaboration rule - I mean, it's not how the way things work in the real job world - in the real job world, people collaborate ALL the time. I'm sure even professors even collaborate with one another once in a while, even if it's, you know, just asking someone's opinion on something. Collaboration is how things get done and doing it over Facebook is just our generation taking it to the next step. If anything, this kid should be applauded, not expelled.

My Sunglasses

I really like my new sunglasses - shiny, red, Ray-ban Wayfarers - I like to think it gives me hipster cred, although the very fact that I have to say that I think thoroughly negates the point. But whatever. I really, really like them, and better yet, they actually fit. On. My. Face! Woot! You must be thinking, "Well, duh it fits on your face. What, as opposed to your butt?" Oh, oh, oh, but you are not me. Therefore you must have never suffered the sad, sad fate of having an overly wide head with a flat nose. This means sunglasses don't fit me very often. And when they do, they often look and feel terrible - they'll rest on my cheeks, slide down my nose, be pushed so close to my eyes to keep them on that they will literally fog up from my body heat. It sucks, I know.

But I have Wayfarers!

Coming Soon: Nothing Between You and Your Machine - New York Times

This concept of eliminating the mechanical barriers between man and machine, making the use of computers, phones, etc. through completely fluid and natural movements, sounds, and intuition certainly is very interesting. I can see the first inklings of such a digital revolution in the extremely intuitive Apple products - from the MacBook to the IPod to the IPhone - and the Nintendo Wii.

But it won't be easy. I know from personal experience that those Apple products confused me to no end at the beginning because I've been so used to the Windows format and even to this day, all the movements are second nature. And as for that Nintendo Wii? My little brother and I have gotten sore from using that thing ten minutes into a game, we always revert back to the normal controllers from Gamecube when we can. And voice recognition? We have it on our SUV and psshhh, it takes ten tries and a near crash for the darn car to turn off its air conditioner. So certainly there are technology problems that need to be overcome but just as big a problem is this sense of familiarity with the old structure - when we've been raised so within the box, it will take a while to be able to climb out and see outside it. It might take another generation, one that has grown up on an even greater variety and bedrock of technology, to get the job done. Until then, I'm sticking to my keyboard, my controller, and the physically pushing of the A/C button.