The Dawn of the Digital Classroom
There is no doubt we're in the midst of a digital age. In the U.S., nearly every aspect of our lives involves some kind of digital technology. From shopping list apps to scheduling doctor's appointments online, so much of what we do each day is made simpler, or at least more convenient, by a smartphone, tablet, or some other kind of mobile device. Education is no exception.
For years, college students have used computers to help them with research, turn in assignments, schedule classes, and communicate with teachers and fellow students. Today's college students, though, are bringing this technology into the classroom, using smartphones, tablets, and laptops to record assignments, conduct immediate in-class research, and even to text questions to the professor. The modern student expects a "digital classroom" that can accommodate the technology at his or her fingertips, turning more and more often to electronic textbooks (almost half of college students use eTextbooks on a regular basis), taking notes on laptops and tablets, and using a smartphone to navigate campus and student life.
As technology in the classroom becomes increasingly important, educational institutions, government entities, research consortia, and companies providing both traditional and digital educational products and materials are keeping close tabs on the rise of the digital wave. Some of their recent findings suggest that this wave is reaching tsunami status even sooner than we might have thought. Check out some of the surprising statistics. Is the traditional classroom on its way out?
