A College Student's View on Changing Education

This unit, we are reading a variety of scholars' opinions on the Internet's impact on knowledge and education. More so than any other unit, these essays and theories are immensely relevant to my own experience and future as a student in a very institutional education system.
At New York University, the effects of Internet technology have certainly changed the way of educational distribution and mechanism over the past few decades. The transition that is occurring today manifests itself in the many juxtapositions of hierarchal, lecture-style, faculty-centric learning on one hand, and online assignments, the opportunity for laptops in the classroom, and the overall importance of Internet technology for research, completing assignments, and acquiring basic information. While one system represents the authority of faculty, of print texts, and of a tradition of hierarchal knowledge, the other embraces a more inter-disciplinary, self-motivated approach to knowledge with flexibility and range.
 Many of the readings seem to establish that the Internet facilitates essential skills of collaboration, flexibility, making connections, and an emphasis on process over facts. The ease to which we can access almost any information on the internet, almost devalues the importance and authority of the faculty, thus making education more about individual exploration and manipulation of information. However, the opposition would suggest that the Internet also may have inaccurate information, cause distraction and impatience, and a superficial understanding of a wide range of things rather than a deep and thorough study of a particular subject.
While both arguments have some resonance, I believe it would be more valuable to analyze this topic from the perspective of the students--who are impacted every day by the decisions and transitions of these institutions.
I find that the current stage of transition is very interesting and indicative of the widespread uncertainty with regards to the best approach to education. While I am expected to use the Internet to access readings, post my assignments, and communicate with classmates, the Internet is still placed in an inferior role to the authority of the teacher, and the importance of the in-class experience. Professors and faculty must still be seen as providing something unique and important to the classroom, or else why spend thousands of dollars on tuition? I believe that there is something irreplaceable in the system of higher education as providing classrooms, professor-student dynamics, and an on-campus social experience. And in order for these institutions to still exist in the face of this technological transition, the Internet must be seen as providing certain benefits and efficiencies to the education system, without becoming the sole medium and agent for the distribution of knowledge.
The Internet can still be valued as something to be incorporated in the classroom, as an administrative tool, as a way to communicate and collaborate with classmates, and with other students all over the world. For example, a friend at a different University told me that in his Spanish class they often engage in Skype video conferences with students at a partnered school in Mexico, in order to practice the language with native speakers, and exchange customs, ideas, and cultural practices.
This is a way in which the Internet enhances learning, and provides something to supplement the information provided by the professor in the classroom. Nevertheless, the faculty is still necessary, and must still be able to provide a service that can not be achieved via the Internet alone. This may include the importance of speech and conversation as a medium for learning, as some students are more receptive to speech than visuals, or excel in debate and discussion more than writing. Additionally, the personal connections established between professor and student can serve as a mentoring and long-term resource providing information, advice, and friendship.
Ultimately, as a student in a large, institutionalized University, I am constantly aware and critical of the value of the education I am receiving in exchange for this large financial investment. I have become aware of the fragile balance that many institutions have taken towards this transition of adaptability yet consistency. I encourage Universities to continue making decisions that juxtapose the importance of an on-campus, faculty-run, traditional education with the opportunities for more versatile, flexible, and collaborative learning, to provide an experiential, thorough, and yet, inter-disciplinary foundation for the students.