Polite practices replaced by Tech-no etiquette

Move over baby boomers, technology boomers have just about taken over the classroom; which means the University of Houston-Clear Lake is not the university of old.  There has been a tremendous shift in the way professors and students conduct themselves in class with the evolution of technology.

Where information used to be presented and processed through cotton blend papers, inks and face-to-face lectures, classes are now a mix of face-to-face with Powerpoints, WebCT, and Internet. Technology is an ever-changing element of society, and education has changed along with it.

Some of the changes show progress, while some of them have allowed us to forget what we are going to college for, to be a professional.

It is not appropriate for students to have their phones on or text and browse the Web during classes. Students have started treating classes as a care-free environment, interrupting lectures or leaving to answer phone calls, forgetting to put their phones on silent, or texting and checking e-mails.

Students have gotten impertinent with the arrival of Internet social media.  Where communication between students and professors had been formal, students now invite professors to join as one of their friends on Facebook.

E-mail informalities have become rampant in the world of texting and twittering. Instant information delivery has cultivated this generation into thinking that every virtual conversation with anyone online is informal.

Let’s start with a brief review of the parts of the letter: greeting, introduction, body, conclusion and signature.

E-mails, just like letters, start with a formal greeting.  The old adage goes “you never get a chance at a second impression,” and this is just as true on the Internet.  “Dear  Dr., Mrs., Ms. or Mr.,” is not an optional inclusion.

Also, included with this is how you get the attention of your e-mail recipient.  Immediately starting the conversation off with an overly abrupt request for a favor or an inquiry is unacceptable.  Right after the greeting, add a simple introduction, which can be as short as “my name is Edward Cullen, and I am in your Vampirism 101 class.”  Again, first impressions last, and being rude within the first few characters of text can garner an equally rude reply.

In an e-mail, the body should be short, courteous and to the point. In order to be efficient, messages must get to the point quickly, yet politely.  Teachers and professionals take time out of their work day, and sometimes their time at home, in order to respond to a request.

Conclusion and signature may be a formality, but minding manners online, as well as in the real world, are simply a matter of showing that time was taken to write intelligently.  A brief word of thanks at the end of a message can make a world of difference when requesting a favor.

Do not forget we are college students, before leaving professors a message take the time to use proper grammar, spelling and punctuation in order to prove the technological age is not ‘dumbing’ us all.

Too many current students lack common courtesy and it is time for them to relearn these rules and apply them to the cyber age.

Do unto others online as you would have them do unto you.