By Mara Whalen '95
Technology has transformed Deerfield dramatically. Just as the world around us has evolved with the presence of the Internet, e-mail, cellular phones, DVDs, digital cameras, and numerous other technological advances, so has Deerfield. As participants in this mind- boggling, global revolution, we too have changed. The community has changed; conversation has changed; priorities have changed; habits have changed; the self has changed. Unfortunately, a great deal is lost in this process of change.

I find that few students can fathom life at Deerfield without phones in every dorm room, Internet access, voice-mail systems, PowerPoint presentations, search engines, or God forbid, Instant Messenger capabilities. My students and the girls on my corridor are unbelievably saturated with technology in nearly every aspect of their lives. What is even more striking are the differences one sees between the experiences of today's student and those of my own "Deerfield days." And to think, I graduated a mere six years ago.

When I arrived in the fall of 1992, I was equipped with my first computer and a Claris Works word processing program. My Apple computer occupied the majority of the top of my small desk, and I used it primarily for cranking out daily written assignments. That's it. It was a tool. It served as the means for presenting written material in a neat and more academic manner than my previously hand-written, public school assignments. Most students were content to use a computer, but there was no attachment to the device. It occupied a spot on our desk, served us well for the most part, and that was that.

Today, however, one sees students glued to their computers during all hours of the night, blasting through multiple conversations at once, thanks to IM. The students surf online in search of clothes, CDs, books, concert tickets, the latest sports updates, and endless other items of teenage interest. They download hundreds of songs, watch movies, play games, and participate in online chat sites. There is a sense of frenzy if one is unable to access the Internet, AOL, or DANet. Students are seemingly incapable of living, surviving, and functioning, without their electronic playmates. Some young people have expressed how dear their computer is to them by naming it; they don't like to use someone else's computer because, "It's just not the same." By all accounts, gone are the days of computers as tools.

Consequently, there are several noticeable factors that concern me about the invasion of technology in the lives of Deerfield students. Firstly, I see very little use of the Internet for legitimate academic purposes, though that is the primary argument for Internet access in the dorms. Secondly, students are desensitizing themselves to the beauty of quality conversation via human-to-human contact. Thirdly, students are becoming frighteningly foreign to the idea of solitude and thoughtful reflection. Sadly, students seem to have no interest in the joy of writing a letter. Lastly, it seems as though students thrive on quantity more than quality in regards to communication. Honest, thoughtful, and sincere one-on-one engagement with another being seems to occur less and less.

I remember my times as a student talking on the phone in the corridor as my girlfriends gathered round; the late nights debating love, politics, and the uncertainty of our future; the hollers and greetings from the boys in Barton across to those of us in Field; the letters that chronicle my days here; the endless talks, endless words, endless flow of voices all around, bursting with untapped energy. Gone are these days? You tell me, for it appears to be so. Pleasure in simplicity seems to have been lost to the communication overload.

By Richard Vose '02
Technology is a tool that provides a learning experience of unparalleled efficiency and effectiveness as it improves the caliber of students' work. Having experienced its benefits for several years, I firmly believe that it should not be treated as a waste of time.

Microsoft selected my previous school, Fairfield Country Day, to be one of the first schools in the U.S. to participate in the "Learning with Laptops" program (now called "Learning Anytime Anywhere"). Consequently, the school required every student in grades six through nine to bring a laptop to every class, and thereon personal computing was integrated into the daily course work. We mainly began using our laptops for note-taking and presentations, and the result was that more information was processed in less time. Students became more organized and much more efficient in handling all of the material presented.

At Deerfield, I have served as a technology proctor for two years and more recently as the student representative to the Technology Use Committee. During this time span, I have come to realize that Deerfield students do not utilize the technology that is readily available to them.

I believe Deerfield, despite the valiant efforts of the Information Technology Services department, isn't keeping up with technology. Rather, it is the students who keep up with technology. The school merely reacts to the brand new devices and new ways that they are being used.

For example, when students use AOL IM and Napster, I do not include these issues as "technology at Deerfield" because they are not. They are simply bits and pieces that have become a part of teenage life in America. These are instruments used to make life easier, more convenient, and, yes, more entertaining. Deerfield is a place of higher learning and the way computers are used in the dorm does not reflect this.

But rather than outlaw these high tech marvels, Deerfield, in an attempt to take learning to an even higher level, should embrace these potential instruments of learning in the classroom. The school should make it a mandatory requirement for every student to own a laptop and regularly bring it into the classroom. Why? With every student equipped with a laptop computer, every item produced will be of a superior quality and will be done so in less time. With this powerful tool sitting on every student's desk, the possibilities are endless. There is certainly less need for the use of a library because every student is only a click away from an infinite source of information. Yes, time can be wasted finding it, but just as yesterday's students needed to learn the Dewey Decimal system to navigate the library, today's students need to be trained to navigate the Internet efficiently.

Deerfield has already set rigorous standards for its students, but if it commits to the use of technology in the classroom, the caliber of work produced can rise beyond expectations. If used everyday in class, these new tools will offer students a head start upon their entry to the real world. There is no more need for copy machines because everything is transferred digitally. Homework is handed in via network or email. Classrooms have gone almost entirely paperless. Technology is shaping the future of all of our lives and the more we, as students, are exposed to it, the better prepared we will be to enter the working world. Times are changing. Educational institutions from grade schools to graduate schools are realizing that the more they incorporate technology into the learning experience, the better their students' work will be, and the better they will have prepared their graduates. Isn't this the job of any school? It's time for Deerfield to evolve and join the digital age.