First thoughts on final

My first thoughts on the final were about deciding which topic to write about. I decided to write on the first topic, colleges being a Technopoly. Having spent the past year away from most technology coming back to a world full of technology I found myself in an odd place.
There are number of ways and forms of technology which take over/controls/ influences colleges. These included things on a daily and sporadic time table. Every day use would include checking emails, Sakai and similar sites which require constant monitoring. Less ever day use includes writing papers, registering for classes, or research. For either use, it would be extremely difficult if not nearly impossible to complete a college education without access to a computer or internet.
It would be almost impossible to go to college without a computer. That is quite an interesting idea, and one I want to address in my paper, what if you can’t afford a computer, or it is hard to access one? It is one thing if a person lives on campus where they have easy access to computer labs. What about a school like Rutgers, where a lot of students commuter and do not have such easy access to computers or programs required for a class project. Say for example if a person needs to share the computer with their family. What if you don’t live at school and need to balance travel, a job, school, and computer lab hours? What if you live in New Brunswick and your laptop is stolen and you cannot afford to replace the computer? Given the importance of a college education for a job have to wonder how much this hurts the gap between the poor and middle class and impact on the digital divide.

This is further complicated by the need for college education for most jobs. Moreover, jobs want employees who can use a computer, at least know how to type or use the Internet. A person without computer skills, often honed in college, will have a harder time in the job market.
College students also use computers for their social life. Facebook is an almost daily activity for most college students. It informs students about parties and events, and is an easy way for people to keep track of old friends and events on campus. Another social use of technologies are “talking programs”, such as Instant messages, text, and Skype. These are constant forms of communication and needed to stay on top of a person’s social circle. Also important are recreational sites, for instance TFLN or FML. Having access to an internet and these sites helps people know what is cool, new slang, or even feel connected to a community.