Education and Technology

One of the many subjects the students in the “Vision of Students Today” brings up is the subject of technology and its role in students’ lives. In 2016, computers have become a necessary part of college. At UMW, we have reading guides, schedules, and most condemning of all: assignment submission all on Canvas. To earn a diploma without using a single computer is to severely hamper one’s academic potential.
For many, this seems like an obvious conclusion. A laptop and a smart phone are unspoken pre-requisites for most class. The problem is when technology becomes another barrier for students who have financial difficulties and can’t afford it. At the start of my sophomore year, I had my laptop unavailable for a week while having a screen replaced.. I had to depend on the campus’s public computers for writing papers and doing research. Though manageable, it made my classes notably more difficult and working conditions less convenient. I can’t imagine the hard time facing people who entirely lack personal computers.
There are many families who don’t expect their children to go to college, which is another burden in the already rigorous job market. A Bachelor’s Degree and months (if not years) of prior experience is required to get in the door for many vocations. This struggle is made worse with a need to own phones and computers, paying for cellular service, an internet provider, and other services. This hurdle makes upward social mobility far more difficult. While there are resources such as public libraries which offer computing and printing services, they come at a cost and are less convenient than doing so from one’s home.
Here’s a Twitter post which supposedly states this disadvantage (though I would be weary of its authenticity).
I feel very conflicted on this subject. I realize that our ability to use technology is an important facet to everyday life and so implementing them in a classroom setting is healthy for a student’s development. However it comes at making the cost of higher education even greater for people who could greatly use it.