IT And The University Student by Chua Kee Peow

A decade ago, computers (like the PCs that are found in most homes today) were not an essential part of an ordinary student's life. Then, students were hauling their thick files and notepads to lectures, in an attempt to scribble down all that the lecturers had to say.

Along came the IT Revolution. This bloodless revolution has quite a dramatic effect on the daily lives of people around the world and that would include us - students. Nowadays, words like computers and Internet can be found at every corner of the university campus.

As the IT (short for information technology) tide swept through the developed world, Singapore students are coming to grasp the importance of such a useful tool and its market value.

Here in NUS, the importance of IT and computers are never far from the minds of the students too. With the Notebook Ownership Scheme that the university has introduced, many of our fellow students can be seen carrying their notebook computers all over campus.

Despite the prevalent use of IT on campus, many students may have their doubts as to the true usefulness of IT and its importance to daily campus life. Whatever the critics may say, IT is very relevant to our academic and leisure endeavors.

The most basic of the use of IT in the classrooms is to make Powerpoint presentations. This useful application is the savior for many of us (including yours truly) during our numerous demanding projects. With some hands on experience with the software, any students would be able to grasp the simple selections-and-clicks user interface. I would say that this software is the most important tool for all university students.

Away from the hustle and bustle of academic work, there are always the gamers who would haul their notebook computers on the canteen tables during lunch to play online games with their friends. This has proven to be quite popular. With the finger food in one hand, the other on the mouse is free to roam!

With the various ways that IT has been incorporated to the lives of university students, it is just a matter of time before someone would find new and innovative ways to make use of IT to enrich our lives on campus.

Note:
This previously unpublished article was written for the Aspire website column, The Huddle, between 2001-2002.

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