Back to grad school after 5 years off

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges and frustrations experienced by participants returning to graduate school after a break, particularly regarding the complexities introduced by modern educational technology. Participants express concerns about the usability of online portals, the navigation of digital resources, and the impact of these changes on the learning experience.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant feels that technology has made learning more complicated, preferring traditional methods of education that involve straightforward lectures and assignments.
  • Another participant suggests that some technological advancements may be unnecessary, describing them as "solutions looking for a problem," but acknowledges the importance of adapting to these changes.
  • A participant highlights the frustration of having to manage multiple online portals and accounts, which detracts from the time spent on actual learning.
  • Another contributor agrees that navigating poorly designed menu systems consumes a significant amount of homework time without enhancing learning outcomes.
  • One participant expresses a resigned acceptance of the current technological landscape, suggesting that adaptation is necessary.
  • Another viewpoint is that the issue lies in the poor design of user interfaces for web applications, rather than the technology itself being fundamentally flawed.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the complexity and frustration associated with modern educational technology, but there are differing opinions on whether this complexity is inherently negative or a challenge that must be accepted. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the effectiveness of current technological implementations in education.

Contextual Notes

Participants express concerns about the usability of educational technology, but specific limitations or assumptions regarding the effectiveness of these tools are not fully explored. The discussion does not resolve the question of whether technology enhances or detracts from the learning experience.

gravenewworld
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And man has technology in the classroom advanced at breakneck speed. I've only been away for 5 years and I'm having trouble trying to learn it. Is it me, or has technology actually made learning worse? Why can't things be simple anymore? All I want is a lecture, an assignment, and test. Now you get a lecture, all the supplemental materials are buried on some online portal website that has a gazillion subfolders and menus. There's also more than 1 portal site you have to keep track of, interactive 3D computer assignments you have to remember where to find and do them, different passwords for everything, and have to set up all sorts of different accounts. Not to mention setting up your computer to just be able to connect to your school's network on campus and off campus is a huge pain in the neck. I feel like I actually learned better the way I used to be taught. A lot of this technology makes things very convoluted to find, not easier. I think 3 quarters of the menus in my school's portal I'll probably hardly, if ever, use.

Textbook+notes+good professor=best way to learn in my opinion.
 
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Yeah I think some of that stuff of more of a "solution looking for a problem" type of situation. But some of it is worthwhile, and it's definitely worthwhile to spend time learning to navigate that stuff, since it isn't going to go away anytime soon.
 
daveyrocket said:
Yeah I think some of that stuff of more of a "solution looking for a problem" type of situation. But some of it is worthwhile, and it's definitely worthwhile to spend time learning to navigate that stuff, since it isn't going to go away anytime soon.

Yeah, I mean I'm pretty much forced to learn all of this stuff, it's not going away. What happened to simply going to the library and filling out a simple form to order a journal article you don't have access to? Now you have to set up an account, with a user name and password (of course I have 200 other passwords to remember), and have to fill it out on the library's portal. But you have to remember how to navigate through the library's portal. That's only the library's portal though. You also have to remember how to navigate through your own personal university portal website and also the portal website for the classroom, with each portal having a ton of different option menus and subfolders. Where's the simplicity?
 
I've started back to school, and agree with you, gravenewworld, that it's unnecessarily complicated. I spend a third of my homework time navigating the poorly-built menu systems to make sure I didn't miss anything.

It takes more time now, not less time, and there's no increase in overall learning. I think it's because they're trying to shoehorn classic learning into the computer age. Doesn't work. I've seen good, interactive computer-based training, and what my University is providing isn't it.
 
sorry buddy this is the age we live in get used to it lol
 
I think it's not so much that there is something fundamentally wrong or unworkable about this idea, it's just that people still suck at making good user interfaces for web applications.
 

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