by Leigh Goessl

Created on: April 01, 2009

Computers are an integral part of today's college classroom. Children are introduced to computers in school at an early age and in the educational setting, technology plays an important role.

Many adult students returning to college after being out of school for many years didn't grow up with this technology. Some may not even have been exposed to a computer. If you fall into this population and are looking to go back to school to pursue a college degree, it would be worth the effort to get some basic computer knowledge before enrolling.

If you are not taking a distance learning class you may be wondering why you need to know how to use a computer. The truth is even though you'll still be sitting in a classroom listening to lectures your assignments will require the use of technology. You'll have to take exams, do research papers, find sources and know how to type and save your documents.

In order to succeed in your degree program, some basic computer skills are necessary. You'll need to know how to use e-mail, use Internet search engines and how to do research online. You'll also need to know how to type your assignments in a word processing program.

Here's why these computer skills are so important:

*Successful Research

While you can still go to the library and do research for your assignments, it is much easier to use academic online library databases and other educational resources online. The convenience is second to none and once you get the hang of it, research papers will be much less time consuming than doing it the old-fashioned way.

Additionally today's libraries are mostly technology centric. Card catalogs are pretty much extinct and if you want to locate resources for your assignment, you'll need to know how to use the computer in order to locate your reference books.

Many assignments given by professors also contain a web research component and it will be hard to integrate this into your paper if you don't understand how to do it.

*Typewritten Papers

Professors are not going to accept a handwritten assignment and you'll have to type it. Granted if you have typing skills you can try using a typewriter to put together your work, but it will look less than professional by today's standards.

Hyperlinks are often a good enhancement to many kinds of assignments and if you don't type your paper on the computer, you can't offer these for your professor to look at.

*Basic Internet Searches

Many classrooms are equipped with computers and during classroom time professors

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