Five Minutes...Moira's Weekly Commentary

Show Originating on
September 10, 2002

Times have changed, once again ... Let's take five with Moira Gunn. This is "Five Minutes".

I remember going away to college, and my big technology purchase wasn't a personal computer, a cell phone, a PDA or even a calculator. Nope. Back in the Stone Age, when I went to school my big technology purchase was ... drum roll here ... a clock radio.

That's right - I was the envy of everyone on my floor. It had AM and FM, a snooze button, a sleep setting for late night listening, a simulated wood case with shiny metal trim, and it actually swiveled. You could even adjust the clock face for easy viewing whether you were sitting at your desk, or huddled on the floor illegally popping popcorn.

Having recently sent a teenager to college, I can testify that the wish list of electronic "gotta have's" has exploded. Besides the aforementioned laptops, cell phones, PDA's and scientific calculators, today's students hanker for boom boxes, CD burners, video game players, TVs, VCRs, Web cams, headphones, DVD players and more.

It makes you wonder when they'll have time to go to school.

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Just yesterday I happened to drive past my old dorm. Sure enough, my alma mater is still shoehorning students into those same tiny rooms. So I wondered, how do those students begin to pack in all their electronic gear? And how do they get along with those two tiny wall sockets?

Heck, my roommate's popcorn popper alone could black out the entire floor if somebody thoughtlessly turned on the overhead light. What happens when all these kids turn on their computers?

Obviously, they must have fixed all that, as well as put in telephone lines for calling home and Internet access. (No, we didn't have telephones either. We shared two in the hallway.)

Why we didn't even have calculators, but they were just about to make their appearance. In fairly short order, calculators came on the scene, and they carried the stratospheric price tag of $650.

While I'm burdened with saying "No" to most of the requests on the list, the schools have a bigger challenge: they have to keep up with the new technology of their students.

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When the calculators began to make their presence felt, was it fair for students to use them on tests? Even in homework assignments, how do they "show their work?"

You might think this has all been solved, but today's onslaught of new technology doesn't even make the calculator question easier. For example, PDA's have terrific calculators inside. On the other hand, you can also store a crib sheet there, and switch back and forth with the light touch of your finger.

So, does a school exclude the PDA's? And if they don't, does the teacher have the right to examine?

These are hard questions and they certainly make my college experience seem incredibly tame. Here we were, plugging towels under the door and opening the windows to the freezing air, in a futile attempt to contain the telltale odor of popping corn.

Now, popcorn poppers are probably no longer on the list of forbidden items. And why should they be? That's what microwaves are for.

And no, we didn't have those either.

I'm Moira Gunn. This is Five Minutes.


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