Experimenting & learning to think critically and competently: Combining 2020 technology with student-driven research

One might not think that the ubiquitous availability of cheap, easy, powerful computing power combined with storage and retrieval of information would produce in its wake better students, better minds, and the benefits of better education. The opposite is the case. As the increasing penetration of consumer electronics continues apace, it is becoming increasingly obvious that students have neither the patience to pay attention, nor the ability to think critically. A good measure of that loss of student capability comes from the popular press, where blog after blog decries the loss of thinking and, in turn, the power of education. Not to be outdone, the academic press as signaled by Google Scholar ® provides us with a strong measure of this electronicsdriven loss of thinking and withering of education. Table 1 shows the year by year data.