College Learning Today

Learning and technology go hand in hand but recently I have watched a video called Vision of Students Today by Michael Wesch that questioned technology and the college student learning environment. The video explained that on average college class rooms consist of hundreds of seats where students sit and listen to a teacher lecture. Students found that only 18% of their teachers know their name which means 82% don’t. Students spend thousands of dollars on text books every year, some of which are not even opened. College is made to prepare students for jobs and the life ahead of them but they are not practicing careers or getting firsthand experience. Michael Wesch asked the question “What are they [the students] learning sitting here?”


This video is very relevant to me and many other students that plan on attending college. What are students learning sitting in a classroom? Not very much is the answer. Students in college should be learning by doing hands on activities. Sure the occasional lecture is okay and may very well be needed for notes and preparation purposes; but every day? Even if the lecture kind of class is needed the class size should be reduced. The amount of students (one hundred fifteen on average) in a class room is way too many. A smaller class size results in teachers having a closer connection with students and a better learning environment. If only 26% of reading assignments are relevant to life then why are we doing them? The assignments given in college should have to do with the jobs students are striving for, not just to get a grade. “Some have suggested technology can save us…” but can it really? I have seen two videos now that say many students are preparing for jobs that do not exist today. The careers that are being talked about have a great chance of dealing with technology, so of course technology should be used in class – but to what extent? Books on line can save money in the long run and pictures, blogs, and quick conversations can be seen on the internet. Communicating, sharing thoughts with peers and accessing information is all very important in education and can all be done with the technology we have. What about the use of technology in class though? It can be used to take quick notes look up words and write papers, but what else is it used for? Students in Vision of Students Today said they Facebook through class and bring a laptop but don’t work on class related work. The side activities in class on lap tops are probably occurring in class because of boredom. So what is the happy medium? Students should have smaller class sizes that are more interactive and meaningful. Hands on classes should be established to build up skill in their line of preferred profession. Technology should be used, but not over used to the extent that everyone’s life is based on it. I hope that by the time I reach the age of college years these problems have been attempted to be fixed and that I will be able to learn without attending a lecture.