I am Disappointed in Generation e.

Or perhaps, I am disappointed in my young fellow students and the college I attend - Cape Fear Community College (CFCC). They seem, in some ways, computer illiterate . Perhaps they are just computer averse. In any case I am disappointed.

I have been led, mostly by media and anecdotal evidence, to believe that young folks are computer wizards. How many times have I heard stories of children programming g'pa or g'ma's DVD player, etc.? It seems like most students I pass on campus have a cellphone to their ear or are texting on some phone-like device. Surely they use computers!

A word on the student population: the local 4-year university campus considers its freshman sophomore students "pipeline". These are those that fit the standard mold - high school graduates moving on to a 4-year program. CFCC students are not pipeline students. They don't fit that mold for some reason. They may have worked after high school and are returning to school. They may be here for vocational programs such as nursing or truck driving.

Given that these are non-standard students they may be non-standard Gen-E members as well. They may not have had the opportunities to become comfortable with computers that the pipeline students have had. But still, I would expect a lot, if not a majority, to be comfortable with computers. The school provides Campus Cruiser, a tool with email, forums for class members, online announcements, etc. but I am amazed at the number of students that do not USE these. If a teacher cancels a class and announces it on Campus Cruiser, many students will still show up.

(Or perhaps they are like I was the first time in college - more interested in my social life than in school.) I am still disappointed.