Burton's Article

Burton’s article entitled “Dear Students: Don’t Let College Unplug Your Future” features an extremely strong bias towards technology and against the traditional organization of the university experience.  He believes that technology is becoming more important than the real world and that college succeeds solely in reducing our technological potential.  According to him, the hard-earned college degree amounts to pointless busy work in a technologically hostile environment. He states that “your work will speak for itself” and that the reality of holding a degree will become immaterial.  However, it is significant to note that the author never addresses the counter-argument regarding the fact that the learning process at college does succeed at giving the students the skills required to prove their work.  While the importance of a degree is up for debate, the value of a college education in a person’s future cannot be ignored.  The article also understates the danger of the Internet in an attempt to sway readers towards the author’s bias.  While the risks are mentioned, they are glossed over and immediately followed by paragraphs on the potential benefits of connecting with the world through technology.  This article was written a short while ago in 2009.  However, in our fast-paced, technology-driven world, this small time period is substantial.  Many of the arguments concerning the absence of progress in universities lack proof in today’s society.  This semester at BYU I already am using a blog, online software, an online textbook, and Facebook for my regular schoolwork and church attendance.  Burton’s article does not succeed in bringing me to his viewpoint mostly due to his ridiculously large bias.