4.0894 On E-Mail, Age, and College Students (2/48)
Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Tue, 15 Jan 91 18:57:34 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 4, No. 0894. Tuesday, 15 Jan 1991.
(1) Date: Mon, 14 Jan 91 20:04:43 EST (22 lines)
From: Willard McCarty <MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca>
Subject: the eternal child
(2) Date: 15 Jan 91 17:17:50 (26 lines)
From: David.A.Bantz@mac.dartmouth.edu
Subject: Re: 4.0889 Age of E-Mailers
(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 91 20:04:43 EST
From: Willard McCarty <MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca>
Subject: the eternal child
I have nothing much but impressions to go on, but that never stopped me
before, so I won't let it now. The apparent age of those who use e-mail
is, I think, attributable to two factors: first, the laudable
attenuation of what sociologists call "social context cues", and second,
the nurture of our desire to play, so wonderfully provided by the
whizz-bang gadgets we have before us.
I recall meeting someone a few years ago and to my great surprise
discovering his gray-white hair and evidence of his status as a
distinguished senior professor of literature. After analyzing my
surprise, I realized that I had steadfastly ignored the evidence of his
status already available to me before I met him. His obvious devotion
to computers, his enthusiasm and abundant energy led me to think he must
be young. How silly. As if having seen the cover you didn't need to
read the book. Which is, of course, sometimes true.
Willard McCarty
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------38----
Date: 15 Jan 91 17:17:50
From: David.A.Bantz@mac.dartmouth.edu
Subject: Re: 4.0889 Age of E-Mailers (2/28)
--- Karen Kay <LL23%NEMOMUS.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> wrote:
I am always shocked at how few of my students (except for the computer
science majors) use computers except at gunpoint.
--- end of quoted material ---
A very recent Dartmouth survey found, on the other hand found:
82% of students have used computers for class work other than word processing
(the survey did not inquire about guns used to motivate)
88% said they knew how to use campus file servers
73% know our campus-developed e-mail software
72% own a computer connected to the campus network
94% own a computer
On a scale of 1 (poor) 2 (fair) 3 (good) 4 (excellent),
students rated services:
e-mail 3.5
public file server 3.3
computer center consultants 3.3
most comments about the campus computing environment were positive