Thursday, May 19, 2011

Judy Guenseth: Virtual classrooms provide unique learning opportunity

Master's in Public Administration (MPA) graduate Judy Guenseth was featured in an May 18, 2011, op-ed in the Galesburg Register-Mail.

"In a society that focuses on the comforts of life, the challenges of coping with technological changes may put baby boomers out of their comfort zones. On the other hand, the youth of today have grown up with computers, the Internet and technological gadgets and are at ease with the digital world. The education setting has provided a springboard for this exposure and it has changed the way the classroom is structured.

As I attended a bricks and mortar university years ago, a manual typewriter was my trusted friend. Computers were something the school used to grade tests and print out class schedules. Fast forward to present day and virtual classrooms exist on a level not imagined even 10 years ago.

These vast changes have taken on a personal significance for me, as I will be graduating today from the University of Illinois at Springfield having never stepped into a campus classroom. It is especially endearing considering I never once had to dust off my manual typewriter to get the job done."

Read the full article online