A class is going on at college. Standing in the front, near a big screen, a teacher is giving a lecture. Sitting in the chairs, students are listening to his instruction carefully. There are notebooks, handouts, textbooks, binders, and some drinks on the desks. Also, each student is using his or her own laptop computer. Why do they have their computers? They could be taking a computer class, but actually, any student needs to have access to a computer regardless of his or her major these days. A computer is necessary for college students for three reasons: to take computer-based classes, to do their assignments, and to communicate efficiently with people related to their school.
First, computer-based classes require college students to have a computer. The students whose majors are engineering or programming especially need one. For example, an article in BLACKSBURG, Va. reports that students at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering must buy and use computers in class (Mackay, 2010) . Even if their majors have nothing to do with computers, they still need their computers to take online programs. In fact, according to AOL adviser Regina Lewis, over 75% of U.S. colleges and universities offer online courses (Neal, 2003) .
Another reason why computers are essential for college students is to do their assignments. Many undergraduates refer to information from the Internet in order to write papers and essays. To do that, they ought to have access to a computer. For instance, Steve Eulenberg, an English major graduate of University of California, Riverside, extracted a lot of passages from online academic essays written by other people more than books for his papers when he was in university. Not only he but also Dana, who is majoring in environmental engineering at UC Riverside, often cites newspaper articles and journals. In addition, college students’ assignments usually must be typed. In my case, I had to write a thesis by using Microsoft Word, word processor software, and print it out to graduate from a university in Japan.
Finally, students need a computer to improve communication with their faculty members and classmates in college. Of course, they can visit student services and any other offices on campus; however, utilizing a school website is a more convenient way to contact their college. One example is in the website of Riverside Community College District. It shows that all RCC students are provided with official e-mail accounts so that they can receive important messages such as class information and financial notification (RCCD Systems Office Building) . Moreover, social software can be used as a tool for submitting assignments to a teacher and for sharing them with peers. In truth, every student in my writing class at UC Riverside Extension is required to have his or her own blog. We sometimes make a comment on each other’s document, and the comments as well as assignments are graded by our teacher.
For these three reasons, it is clarified that a computer is vital for college students. Even after graduating, most of them will still be using computers for their jobs and hobbies. Actually, computers are for not only college students but many kinds of people from children to adults. There will come a time when any person lives with a computer in the near future.
Works Cited
Mackay, S. D. (2010, 8 17). Virginia Tech News. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from Virginia Tech Invent the Future: http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2010/08/081710-eng-usnewsrankings.html
Neal, R. (2003, 8 27). Earning A Degree Online. Retrieved May 2, 2011, from CBS NEWS: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/26/earlyshow/contributors/reginalewis/main570268.shtml
RCCD Systems Office Building. (n.d.). Welcome to RCC Student E-mail. Retrieved May 5, 2011, from Riverside Community College District: http://www.rcc.edu/students/email.cfm
