A recent NPR article titled "'Smartphone-Dependents' Often Have No Backup Plan For Web Access" points out something that I have often thought about when it comes to education: What would people do if, all of a sudden, they could not use the web - particularly smartphones - for information?
Many of the people quoted in the article talk about how wireless is not always accessible for them, so the use of data on their smartphones is essential to their lives. But think about that... their phone is essential to their daily life. This bugs me for a few reasons. What if your cell phone provider suddenly lost service for days? Could you still get to work and live your life? What if your phone broke and not everything was "saved to the cloud?" This is why I have a hard copy of my planner and of my phone book. While I love having access to everything online, I also know that I don't want to rely on it for everything.
How does this apply to education? I often find myself just looking things up in the easiest way possible, usually Googling on my phone while I write a paper. As I've learned more as a historian, I find that they information I get from a simple Google search is often incomplete and inadequate. While it might provide me with an immediate answer, I don't get the same amount of information. Rather, going to the library and seeing a selection of books right in front of me with the answers and all the context helps me a lot more.
I won't deny my reliance on my phone, but I also know I'd be able to function without it. Would you?
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