Kim's Journal # 1

JOURNAL # 1
Professors adjust their methods to reach technology-savvy generation
By Eleanor Yang Su

Today’s Millennial Generation of college students known as “Generation X” and “Echo Boomers” are multitasking all the time, which has the potential to create distractions in the classroom. Professors site such examples as students sending text messages, checking e-mail, and playing video games during the course of a lecture. Some professors struggle to keep up the students’ need to do many things at once. They are forced to change their strategies to meet the needs of the techno-savvy students.
Although, there are some professors who embrace the change, there are also those who resist. Some fear that technology is being used to entertain students which can “dumb-down a course.” Other professors feel that technology should be used to engage students. Universities agree and have met the challenge with such tools as online management systems and that allow students to view grades, take quizzes, and participate in discussion boards. Within the classroom, the clicker has become a popular tool for both students and professors.

Question # 1

What is a clicker?

A clicker is a remote answering device similar to a television remote control that allows teachers to pose questions and get immediate feedback from the entire class anonymously. Student responses are sent by infrared signals to a computer system that displays the results in a graph instantly.


Question # 2

With an increase in the demand for the use of technology, what happens to the student who has been absent from the classroom for several years?

It is my fear that students who have been absent from the classroom for an extended period of time and have not kept up with the trends in technology, will get left behind. Some colleges and universities require that students take a technology course as a prerequisite, which would educate the students about the uses of technology.