Gadgets abound. I remember getting my first cell phone. At that point, everyone had the same phone, and it did two things: made phone calls and received them. Then came text messaging, which has, as I’m sure we’re all aware, taken off like no tomorrow. I’ll admit that I was a bit wary to make the jump to cell phones that were also cameras–actually, I was blown away when I needed a new phone and even the cheapest models had a color screen–but this, too, has taken off. Our advanced gadgetry has changed the face of day-to-day life, so why not education, too? 

The Next Generation 
Take a moment to remember the first time that you saw a child with his or her own cell phone.  Nothing shows the generation gap between Gen Y and the up-and-coming generation like the cell phone. I was proctoring an exam not too long ago, and when I collected the cell phones and other devices before the test I realized something: every single one of the eighth-graders had a nicer phone than I did. At this particular school, we had had issues with students texting exam questions during tests. We were not prepared for this. It was a middle school, and we’d underestimated the technical prowess–and willingness to use it to cheat–of our students, who in most other ways seemed like normal children. 

High Technology Is the Norm  
The Information Age seems to be making an impact. Loss of innocence is happening at a younger age because parents simply can’t keep up with all of the new sources. It used to be easy to turn off the television and make sure that little Jimmy wasn’t hanging with the bad crowd. Today, however, Jimmy has broadband Internet access at home and at school; a phone that allows him to get online, text, and even make phone calls; and umpteen other gizmos that connect him to his social network(reducing this term to the antiquated ‘friends’ simply won’t do any longer). With even those fancy PowerPoint presentations seeming lackluster and passé, education must adapt, lest books made of paper go the way of the dinosaur: violent extinction.   

eCampus Revolution
Many campuses are making the slow transition to electronic texts, and many more have WiFi flowing freely. The iPhone and other, like-featured handhelds are making it possible to get class schedules, locations, materials, and updates immediately in the palm of your hand. It would be an absolute shame not work this into campus life. It would also be the equivalent of a school shooting itself in the foot repeatedly. The trouble is keeping up. Textbooks are expensive and heavy; the electronic versions have no weight whatsoever, don’t take up any room except on hard drives, and the cost–well, that’s still being dealt with. 

What’s Goin’ On 
Web 2.0 is making its mark pretty heavily. Even Encyclopedia Brittanica is going to start turning itself into a more Wiki-like operation. We’re still a ways out from entirely electronic texts, but professors now post blogs, videos of lectures, and near everything else required for classes online. We’ve even seen a boom in online education in general, thanks to rising tuition costs.  

Call me a luddite, but I’m going to miss the smell of books on campus. As more and more gets transitioned online, we’re going to lose those things we clung so dearly to. Even teaching cursive is on the chopping block. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t write in cursive much anymore myself, but what will become of signatures?