Information and the Future

This is the blog of the Information and the Future task force of the Rolfing Library at Trinity International University. The IF task force exists to explore the role of libraries in the future of Christian higher education.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Technology and students

The Sep. 19, 2008 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education has a section that discusses how technology affects students. Here are some highlights:

"Generational Myth" denied the claims made about the "digital generation," particularly the ideas that all students are good at technology or that they don't like the print format.

"Online literacy is a lesser kind" talked about how people read webpages (they skim it in an "F" shape), and said that focusing on technology in education is not helpful, since it doesn't involve slow reading.

"The real impact of virtual worlds" looked at how students think about technology. They tend to see technology as play, including negative aspects such as insults and outrageous activities online. They often have fictionalized personas to fit into different groups (which happens in real life too!). They use online community to compensate for loss of community in the real world.