Having recieved my associates degree I must disagree. In college they teach you how to do everything the old school way, with a pen and a piece of paper. In all my math classes I have had to learn how to do all calculations by hand. Once I get the credit for having learned how to do a function, they allow you to use a calculator from then on. I think computers have allowed society to expand. How many students would become engineers if they had to do every single calculation by hand on paper with no calculator. You would need an entire semester just to take one calc III w/ physics exam.

The same goes for writing papers in english classes in college. Most of the real grade determining papers are on the spot essays that have to be written in class. You don't have the luxury of having a grammer check or a spelling check. The one thing they do allow you to use is a dictionary, and thats only if the professor allows it. Also, most of the research papers that are written require you to use many sources, including books. They will mark you off if all you use are computer and internet sources. For one paper I actually had to interview someone and include that as a source.

So in closing:

I believe that computers in general are a great learning tool. I have learned almost everything I know through research via the net. Although by no means do they replace the actual learning process. If anything, they reinforce it.