Journal 2

The Laptops Are Coming! The Laptops Are Coming!

McFarlane, S. H. (Summer 2008). The laptops are coming! The laptops are coming!. Rethinking Schools Online, 22 No. 4, Retrieved August 7, 2008, from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/22_04/lapt224.shtml

In this article, Sarah Heller McFarlane discusses her experience with personal laptops in the classroom whereby each student was provided their very own computer. Each secondary student was given a personal computer that was for both school and home use. After one year, McFarlane has is not certain if each student having their own computer was a good move made by her district.

The distribution of the laptops afforded the closer of the accessibility gap between students due to their socioeconomic status. The students that could not afford technology in the home were now given a chance to develop and improve their skills that otherwise would be lacking. Conversely, McFarlane grew concerned of the practices that allowed each student to have their own laptop. Firstly, the teachers needed to be trained, which she deemed as oppressive with respect to the time it took. She felt that she was spending more time “policing” her students that were using the technology for non-educational purposes. Lastly, she had noticed that the social interaction between her students began to subside and wane.

Questions:

How do you counteract the decrease in social interaction?

Utilize free web-based educational tools that help create a social environment. These tools include but are not limited to, a classroom Wiki and/or blog. Here the students are not denied technology experiences and are able to communicate with their peers through a community/collaborative environment.


How do you make sure that students are staying on task?

I am certain that there are ways in which to block sits that are tempting to secondary learners (e.g. Myspace). Therefore, I would think that it would be possible to format the personal laptops to strictly meet the requirements for their specific use. (?)