A month ago, Sept. 27 was celebrated as Alkek Technology Day, as part of Texas State’s Common Experience Innovation Week. The event featured several workshops aimed at teaching fundamental technology skills and fostering innovation. In this regard, the university is doing its part to contribute to technological innovation and create technical progress.
Technology can help build a community. Where student life fails to include individuals, technology can bridge that gap. Technology can help contribute to improving social relations around the community by increasing connectivity and creating a sense of purpose. The contribution of technology to humanity is revolutionary and forms an ecological atmosphere that assists in reducing cultural barriers and fostering social cooperation.
The forces driving technological innovation are rooted in a belief in progress. At the university level, students should be encouraged to engage with technology in labs and in the classroom and develop literacy in the field. Events such as the Common Experience Innovation Week can help push students closer to this goal and teach them transferable skills in their respective career fields.
Texas State ought to play the role in defining the life of the student body. When events of importance happen on campus, students and faculty should be able to look to technology and social media for breaking updates and commentary from people here on the ground. Student media, such as The University Star, can lead the way as a reliable source of information through its print, digital and social media.
Instilling a greater sense of community this way can only happen if students come to the table and participate. A greater effort is lacking in the communication of the events surrounding student life. This is particularly important for non-traditional students, transfer students and commuting students who being otherwise separated by distance, culture and personal history may not have the exposure to experience Texas State and the San Marcos community the way traditional, local students do.
A university is an institution of higher learning and the use of technology in classrooms and in public spaces can enhance education and instill a greater sense of purpose and of quality of life. A higher education is costly and the quality of education ought to match the cost. For this reason, state of the art technology should be readily available for use and students should be educated in their use.
Students need more facilities such as Alkek Library Learning Commons that integrate technology into everyday use. Moreover, more exposure to technology in classrooms can contribute to improve literacy and create the sense of a more integrated community.
Technology presents a form of training in a democracy, a way of educating civic values that render social life a participation of political virtue. Because of this, its importance is invaluable in forming the progress of the country and directing a path for the future.
– Patrick Tchakounte is a biochemistry junior