Is Technology Ruining our Education?

As a first year, I arrived in Southampton with great motivation for learning, meeting course mates and improving my skills in a subject I was keen to throw myself into. I had heard the usual ‘you’ll end up missing a few lectures,’ ’11ams will soon feel like 9ams,’ ‘I never go to anything anymore’; but I never expected to casually say those things myself so often.

Yet, once the excitement of Freshers Week and a new timetable to explore wore off, it became clear that it is harder than I had imagined maintaining motivation to attend all the lectures and seminars that appear on it. The countless times I arrive to a lecture theatre, get out my pen and notepad and am told I should not take notes because everything is on Blackboard, I wonder what is the point in attending? It feels as if the lecturers feel we would be wasting our time making notes on ideas we see and hear, but is this not the key way of learning at university? At least that is what I was informed before I came here. When I attend a lecture I expect to learn about the topic there and then, not take it in later on a computer – I want to be inspired by someone with experience, not told to put pen and paper away.

First Blackboard, then this?

With some subjects even putting the slides up before the lecture takes place, and others recording the lecturer’s speech along with the Powerpoint to be listened at from the comfort of your own bed or sofa, I find it difficult to understand how to keep the motivation to attend.

The growing system of e-assignments, which increasingly forces us to receive grades online, again cuts off communication with your tutors, and I feel I am doing my degree from my halls room, rather than at the university. Perhaps if we did not have this technology so readily available to us, we would feel that extra need to attend everything on our timetable and be inspired to write everything down and take as much in as we can – as opposed the attitude ‘there’s no point going, it’ll be on Blackboard anyway.’