WR,
This assumes of course that you are not trying to refold your map, plot your new course - after of course working evrything out on your whizz wheel, by then you may get chance to look outside to realise you are in a spiral dive.....
Seriously, as I have said before, at stude PPL level I agree that they should all know how to read a map, DR, plot diversions, etc. Once they have their PPL then show them GPS, it doesnt matter if you are fling VFR or IFR - the GPS doesnt know!
Personally I use a panel mount GNS430 onto which I my preloaded flight plan alongside an AvMap EKPIIIC for backup. I cross check my GPS and MAP every few mins just in case it happens to go down - which it never has done yet.
All my preflight planning it done on either the laptop or the EKP and then transferred to the map afterwards. In addition to the FP it gives me runways, freqs, avgas avaliability, etc.
GPS is an incredibly useful tool and I just dont buy the idea that anyone using them is a "danger", "head in cockpit", "continually busting CAS more frequently than us gud 'ole map boys".
If you want to nav by map alone then great, no one is stopping you but it doesnt make the rest of us evil.
J.