HALIFAX – As students head back to class, they are increasingly aware that the biggest determinant of academic success is the amount of technology that they use.
Alphonso Stubler, 22, is an Architecture major at Dalhousie University attributes his 4.0 GPA to his quality electronics. “I record lectures on my MacBook pro, convert them to mp4s to play on my iPhone 5, and listen to the lectures twice with my Beats headphones while at the gym. I can hear the intonation change in my professor’s voice, so I know what will be on the exam. Without them I am nothing. ”
Thanks to his collection of Mac products, Stubler always has his class notes nearby. “I use my iPad on the bus, my MacBook Air at cafés without plugs, and my iPad Mini when I’m on the toilet. I’ve really immersed myself in learning.”
Clifton Grenoble, 19, has been taking notes with pen and paper during Canadian literature tutorials at McMaster University and was recently rebuked for his antiquated system.
“I was free-drawing a thought diagram during a tutorial discussion of Atwood’s ‘A Handmaid’s Tale’, when I was told to leave class because my pen scratching paper was a distraction to the TA and other students,” Grenoble exclaimed as he rewrote sections to his upcoming presentation on the dialectical issues facing women and reproductive rights in Asia.
Grenoble is upset that his presentation in the course received a C while a PowerPoint presentation on the outfits of Natasha Richardson and Faye Dunaway in the film adaptation was given an A+. “The TA was so engrossed by the vortex and ripple transitions that he didn’t even notice that the spell checker had changed the book’s title to “Handmade Tails” throughout the presentation.”
The electro-centric nature of modern university education means important information can be missed if students possess antiquated technology.
Chelsea Medici, 21, during the winter last year went to her regularly scheduled class at the University of Toronto only to find the room empty. An email had been sent out cancelling the class, but for Medici, her un-intelligent phone doesn’t pick up emails and she wasted her afternoon commuting into the city from the suburbs.
Medici had time to lament her journey sitting in the library. “I came in thinking that original thought was cherished, but it turns out all I need to do is reformat the professor’s opinions using the right font and border edges and I am guaranteed an 85.”
