While Nicholas Burns, a senior sports, art and entertainment management (SAEM) major, believes online classes aren’t for him, he finds the Internet helpful when it comes to doing research on a particular subject.
Gurpreet Kataria is also not a fan of technology, but he does appreciate what he can do with the Internet and its availability on campus.
“I think that it makes things convenient,” said Kataria, a freshman human resources management major. “I can find anything online, from articles to newspapers.”
In 2010, the Pew Research Center reported that college undergrads, graduate students and community college students owned more cell phones than non-students and adults in general. Undergrads, graduates and community college students also owned more laptops than non-students and adults in general.
Technology has become a must-have for both students and professors. Computers are set up in many classrooms on campus. Students can be seen typing away on their laptops, smart phones and digital tablets while the professor is lecturing about the course material via Power Point. Despite its presence on campus, Point Park students don’t believe relying on technology is the best choice for all students.
According to a study at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2013, 17 percent of surveyed students stated that using their smart phones, laptops, digital tablets and other devices weren’t depriving them of focus in their classes. The other students stated the total opposite.
Jeffrey Ford, sophomore psychology major, said it is difficult for him to focus on class assignments and lectures while being around digital technology, such as laptops.
“It’s hard for me to pay attention if I’m in front of a computer because I’ll have two or three taps open, instead of just sitting down and learning for the whole hour and a half, or three hours,” Ford said.
Burns understands the use of Skype, FaceTime and Oovoo, but he would rather receive his education in person.
“I feel like it’s easier for me to be in front of the professor because it is easier to be distracted when they are not there,” Burns said.
Freshman English major Anastasia Blu Hons-Astle believes that learning in an actual classroom can prepare you for the workforce, and that digital learning can’t get the job done.
“If you get your entire degree online, you’d still need that social aspect,” said Hons-Astle. “If you go into the workforce, you’re going to have to work with another person.”
Even though students often use digital technology to complete their classwork, students feel obligated to attend classes in order to get the best out of their courses.
