How Technology Changed College Experience
College is one of the things in our life that has persevered through the centuries. It is a very old institution and it thrives on tradition. Did you know that the oldest university in the world was founded as early as 1240? All those obscure terms and mottos in Latin, fraternities and sororities, Greek letters, matriculation ceremonies, cloaks and caps, privileges of senior students – it all has that medieval flavor and we like it that way. However, college is more than a place where professors share the wisdom of the ages with the young and keep their dusty tomes stacked. It is a place where young people get ready to begin their independent life in a modern world. Modern means technology-rich nowadays and digital technology changed college more than anything else in the past eight hundred years did.
Learning tools
That is the most prominent domain where changes have happened. Libraries are now digitalized and you do not have to travel across the world to access precious books from arcane archives. Newest research papers are now at your fingertips hours after they were published – all you have to do is to subscribe to the journals of your choice. Knowledge is accessible – that is the major revolution. All you need is your desire to soak it in.
On the flipside, if you think that some pearls of knowledge just aren’t worthy of your time and effort, you can pass on them. For instance, I can ask people online to write me a report for a blow-off class and concentrate on something more substantial for my major. Some time to be alive!
Another time-saving marvel is note-taking apps. You do not have to rewrite other student’s notes on classes you’ve missed. All you have to do is to ask your pal to share his notes with you on Evernote or some other such resource.
Social life
Socialization has always been a crucial component of college life. That is why fraternities exist in the first place – to facilitate social interactions and help students forge life-long friendships. However, socialization now happens mostly online, so every campus has its own webpage and social platform exclusively for students, professors, and alumni.
Thankfully, the age of anonymous apps that facilitated bullying and wreaked havoc on campuses a couple of years ago is running its end (do you even remember titles like Yik Yak or Whisper?) Young people finally realized that digital is forever and words said online can hurt people even more than something said in the heat of the moment, so socializing became more responsible. Instead of anonymity, college students of today prefer ephemerality. Snap or Instagram, anyone?
Student-professor relationships
It won’t be an overstatement to say that there is much more parity between students and professors that it ever was. Social hierarchy as a whole became laxer – it is an old and continuous trend. However, technology played a prominent role in this process in the past couple of decades.
The college faculty ceased being abstract authority figures and became human and relatable. You see, one cannot dread one’s professor as much after seeing their Facebook picture where they wear an ugly Christmas sweater at the family reunion. Finding out that you love the same rock band also does the trick.
Still, if you are too anxious to approach them after the class and ask a nagging question about your essay, all you have to do is email them or make a post in your class’ group or forum. You may preserve the status quo in real life and reserve from hanging out together, but online you are equals – only digital citizens inhabiting the Internet.
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