Comparing Delbanco's College: What, Is, And Should Be

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The educational realm has vastly changed over the past half-century. Society as a whole is in the process of undergoing a technological evolution. Technology is negatively changing the nature of education and is one of the dominant causes of this big transformation. New technological devices and resources are allowing students to complete their assignments too easily, which does not require any logical thinking. Compared to studying in the pre- Internet age, technology has multiple negative effects. In today’s society technology is changing the nature of school by reducing communication skills, creating distractions and restraining human potential. Whether one is thoroughly educated or not, no longer depends on the individual psyche alone. …show more content…

His concept of college predominantly concerns character development and community building. He says, “to serve others is to serve oneself by providing a sense of purpose, thereby countering the loneliness and aimlessness by which all people, young and old, can be afflicted”(Delbanco 148). Through his idea of college, he claims that we can learn most efficiently by learning from and communicating with others. These two concepts are being restricted by an overuse of technology in today’s society. Furthermore, Delbanco argued that learning through one another by a means of communication is more important than material you would learn in a classroom. This idea parallels my idea of the impacts college should have on a student. The purpose of college should be much more than a diploma or a college degree. Relating back to Delbanco’s college philosophies, I agree that college should be a learning experience to help students discover more about their individual character traits through communicating with others around them. Similar to Delbanco’s view of college, I agree that that nature of college should be designed to enlighten and open the student’s minds to new opportunities. Unfortunately, as the 21st century progresses, students at college universities become so consumed in technology, which is taking …show more content…

This high standard urges students to gain good grades in any way possible. Access to the Internet tempts students to take the easy way out. Not only has the web made it much easier to research information, it has also made it easier to copy and paste someone else’s ideas. Author Diane Hamilton wrote an article about how technology has increased plagiarism. She states, “Two Pew Research studies conducted in the spring of 2011 have shown that technology has made it easier for college students to cheat”(Hamilton 2011). She goes on to quote TechNewsDaily who reported, “A report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 55 percent of college presidents said they noticed an increase in plagiarism over the past decade, and 89 percent of that group said technology has played a major role.”(Hamilton 2011). This study shows that students are taking advantage of this quick access to technology, which leads to academic laziness. Furthermore, students are starting to no longer see the need to exercise their mind by formulating their own individual viewpoints. They can simply search the Internet with one click and instantly see millions of other people’s ideas rather than taking the time to create their own. Technology has taken away from the rewards of true hard work and effort by replacing it with simple tasks such as typing research topics into a web browser and scanning the

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