Technology and other modern amenities are very similar from Switzerland to America. Most people have mobile phones and personal computers. I would argue cell service is better, as 3G/cell service is often available even on remote mountain trails. When I first got to Zürich I went to Interdiscount, the Swiss equivalent of RadioShack, and purchased a cheap phone and a prepaid phone plan. This was easy for me as I am a Swiss citizen; however, in order to get a phone plan, the buyer needs to be a citizen, have a residence permit, or pay for one of the more expensive short term plans. It costs me 29CH a month for a prepaid phone plan with 3GB of data, talk and text.
In terms of school technology, the Universität is far better at using their online resources than Northeastern. The Universität has 4-5 online portals, which is inconvenient; however, the resources are much better than myNeu or Blackboard. The most used system is called OLAT which is a blackboard equivalent. All classes post their slides and assignments online through OLAT. All my classes have the students submit assignments online instead of on paper, groups for group assignments are assigned through the portal, and some of my classes do online reading quizzes.
In general, the Universität is very accommodating of online work because it goes with their policy of independence. Unlike in the USA, classes here are never mandatory. There are rules against classes taking attendance for grade points and all lecture slides must be available online. There are no restrictions about booking 2 classes at the same time, as the university trusts that the students are responsible enough to make what schedule they pick out work. Students miss class much more frequently than in America. While this initially sounds pretty bad, I prefer this system. It ensures that the students sitting in the class are only students who actually want to be there, making the environment more studious. It is easier to focus on what the professor is saying in class because I’m not focused on writing down everything on the slides as I know they will be available. I feel it is also a healthier mindset for the students and faculty. The professors aren’t concerned about keeping the classes’ attention as people attending class will be focused, and the students are trusted to be responsible, which I find refreshing.
