This is a personal essay by My Colleges blogger and resident wordsmith Kate Lehnhof. Enjoy.
I’m one of those Generation Y college students who has always enjoyed the benefits of the internet throughout my scholastic career. Let me cite a few examples for you:
-Second Grade: My Dad used to let me get on the internet for a half an hour a day to look at pictures of the Spice Girls. While this was not technically school-related I did master some navigation skills. (Picture me clicking on sparkly pop-ups offering free lip gloss).
-Sixth Grade: When I was assigned to do a report on the planet Venus, I cleverly used up half of the required posterboard space with photos of the planet I downloaded online.
-Seventh Grade: I clearly remember the sheer moment of terror I experienced as I was printing out my science project report and realized I had misused the words, “effect,” and “affect.” A quick visit to dictionary.com cleared things right up.
-Ninth Grade: For our unit on the Holocaust we were able to view images of the concentration camps and museums during computer class. I remember how much those images jolted me and what a sense of reverence I gained for those people.
-Tenth Grade: The dreaded “Term Research Paper,” was made much easier through the use of internet research resources. Going to the library and checking out all those dusty books about Ernest Hemingway would have taken FOREVER.
-Twelfth Grade: As college application dates loomed in on me, I was able to check out schools and send in my application materials via the web.
College: I have never used the web more in my life. I’m constantly researching things for papers, tests and assignments through my school’s portal and through the plain old Google search. My professors often post assignments and guides on the Blackboard.com system and you can even check your grades online there as well. In group projects, we regularly use Google Docs to edit and collaborate. Also, because I am a communications major, I have spent a good deal of time studying the way the internet and social networking have changed marketing and advertising. It is simply something I can’t ignore in this industry.
College has brought on more recreational uses of the web as well. Facebook breaks are the perfect reprieve during long study sessions and ratemyprofessor.com has saved me from more than one awful professor.
I expect that the internet and its powerful tools will only become more important and useful for me as I continue my career. Or as my friends at BadBoySodas would say, “The innanet’s blowin up.”
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