Caveat #2: Making it easy to
use!
Problem #1: Professors' non-acceptance
of it's use.
This is the most important hurdle for students, since many
will see no point in learning the technology if the professors
won't accept it's use. There is some good reason for professors
to be wary, the accuracy of information downloaded from the internet
can be questionable. This is true of any medium, but more so
for the internet because it is the exchange price for immediacy
and ease of publication.
There is a price to pay, however, if professors make the sweeping
decision to not allow its use in their courses (papers, essay's,
etc.). For students who know how to use IT, and can see a valid
way in which it can be applied, not being allowed to use it makes
them doubt their professors and, if encountered in enough of
their courses, makes them doubt the institution as a whole and
the validity of their education. When touring high schoolers
meet up with Norbertine students, their views of the school's
technology use get communicated and may well affect a potential
student's decision to attend Saint Norbert College.
Problem #2: An unbalanced playing
field...
Not every student will come into college with adequate knowledge
of how to use computers and related technology. Not every student
will have computers of their own with which to gain access to
computers outside of lab times or during times in which the labs
are inaccessible (i.e. "crashed" or overcrowded labs).
If IT is going to be given more emphasis (as it should) then
steps need to be taken to make sure that students that don't
have the advantages of experience and access aren't unduly hobbled.
Problem #3: Fear of technology...
This needs to be removed from both professors and
students. They need to stop thinking of every desktop PC as a
malevolent little brother of HAL the super computer, ready to
jettison us out of an airlock if we don't worship them appropriately.
The reality is that every PC is basically a big, dumb, box not
half as smart as your average beagle and twice as harmless.
Neither are they glass sculptures that will crash and burn
if you sneeze wrong. They are a lot more sturdy than many people
seem to think (certain vicious weaknesses aside). The truth is
that most so-called crashes can be recovered from without too
much trouble, especially if students and professors are guided
into developing some good habits, like saving often and making
back ups.
Very often the best way to learn is through experimentation,
and anyone who is afraid isn't going to experiment.
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