When it comes to technology I am becoming a bit nervous…I understand that we are learning to adapt to new technology and it is constantly changing and I do love the possible end results for all of these programs we are learning, however, I am starting to worry about how much we are relying on it.
One cold, dark week the Geneseo Internet was down for a few days and you would think that the world was coming to an end! Projects were extended, exams moved back and students had NO WAY of reaching their professors. Watching the video in class about the escalator stopping really made me laugh because the professors had to remind students that they too had telephones, office hours and secretaries. It was not the end of the world, but, students are being conditioned to utilize the internet so much that they are ignoring any other ways of gathering information. Geneseo was also at fault for this because with this new wave of technology and Internet libraries there is no longer a need to actually purchase a “hard copy” of books. The pros to this is that they will never have to hunt it down if it is put back wrong, or worry about someone damaging or losing it or even keeping the most recent books on the shelves. But, what happens when the website is down and a student walks into the library to find a book about genetics and the most recent one is from 1999?!? I am not even saying that a student will do this! At Geneseo there are now beanbags placed in all the isles so that students can have a quiet reading spot…why are they there? Because no one takes out the books!
Don’t get me wrong, I grew up in the generation of Instant Messaging and loved every minute of it. I was able to see if someone from my class was on-line to ask questions about the homework or project (or tell my parents that was what I was doing when I was catching up on the gossip I missed). I was also able to surf the net for a picture I wanted to put on my poster-board. Before the Internet I would have to go somewhere and make a color copy! That was like .50! I was able to use “Word Art” and “Clip Art” to make up for my poor penmanship and lack of artistic talent. So, these can really benefit a student, but, I don’t want a student or my own child spending most of there time at a computer looking up information. Libraries are not awful, but, there needs to be that balance in case the Internet does go down….you are not stuck taking your class down and giving them a lesson on how to use a card catalogue. I agree, when the Internet is utilized properly it is the best way to get recent accurate information, however, with all of this good…there is a lot of bad and I think it takes a well balanced teacher to say, “You must have two Internet sources and two book sources”.
Kmerman9's Weblog 
I totally agree with what you wrote. People today are at a complete loss if their precious technology breaks down. I have friends that have told me that if they lose their cell phones they would not be able to call me. People don’t remember telephone numbers anymore they program them into their phones and speed dial. If the cell towers ever fall over for some reason we are going to be a society of non-communicators. In addition I was talking to an educatior from West Irondequoit and he stated that instead of teaching children penmanship they are teaching typing. Writing with pens and pencils is still very important. I feel we are headed for a world where people will start staying home and just communicating via internet, blog, cell phone, etc. Wait, were already there and I miss people.