Is
technology making learning simpler – or is it simply making it
redundant? A debate ensues…
BC: Hi, was trying to reach you last Saturday...
Where were you?
AD: Had gone to meet a Professor of Dentistry
- he's an expert surgeon as well.
BC: What could a tech fan and a dentist
have talked about? The commonalities between the traditional wisdom tooth and the
modern Bluetooth?
AD: He had some very interesting things to
say about how today's students were using technology, but for all the wrong
reasons - like cheating in their exams, for instance...
BC: That's pretty sad - there have been
days when I've wondered as to how different things could have been if we had
the same kind of technology back in my time...
AD: I don't believe it – you’ve actually found
something good to say about technology...
BC: Today, you have so many resources
online - like the Salman Khan Academy, for instance – besides the deluge of educational
CDs, online courses, YouTube videos... Students have never had it so good...
AD: It must have been tough for you in
college, having to depend only on books...
BC: Absolutely! There were certain courses,
for which books were issued in the ratio of 1:3, which is one book shared by
three students! Then technology evolved and photocopiers came into our lives.
Soon photocopying select chapters from books caught on like wildfire, and the
copies were passed on from one batch to another.
AD: And then the internet came along...
BC: Right, I think of the options available
for students today – and it saddens me that all they can think of is how to misuse
technology...
AD: Not all of them though... We speak of
using technology to learn and to prepare for exams, but it is unfortunate that some
students use it during the exams - mobiles, websites, and even scientific
calculators with answers stored in the memory...
BC: I guess Bluetooth, micro-sized earplugs
and hands-free devices that one can attach to mobiles have made it easier for
them...
AD: Absolutely, which is also the reason
why mobiles are no longer allowed inside exam halls in most places...
BC: But then, students must be thanking
technology for making mobiles so small – it’s so easy to hide them anywhere,
even under a shirt collar...
AD: And smartphones have smarter
applications, so students can log in for online help, have their answers
checked for grammar and spelling or use apps to find the answer to problems
that might otherwise require them to remember complex formulae...
BC: Back in my times, the only aid that we
were allowed to carry with us was the log book.
AD: Things have changed, haven't they?
Googling for answers, messaging friends, using camera phones to record the
question paper and passing it on, crowdsourcing answers using closed social
networking groups...
BC: And half the time, the teachers don't
even know what's going on.
AD: See, I keep telling you how important it
is for the older generations to update themselves on technology...
BC: But why can't these students realise
that copying is a waste of time? Marks might get you to an interview, but the
minute they start asking questions and know that you don't know much...
AD: Universities are wisening up and have
begun to equip themselves on the technology front. For instance, most
universities abroad have acquired software like TurnItIn, which helps spot
plagiarised papers that have been submitted by the students...
BC: So TurnItIn helps colleges nab errant
students and turn them out...
AD: With colleges aspiring for greater transparency
in exams, and with teachers getting glassy-eyed about technology, how do you
think students are going to react to all that’s happening?
BC: Perhaps they'll look for greater
transparency in seeking answers during exams... with Google Glass.
