Laptops in the classroom?

After reading "'You Won't Be Needing Your Laptops Today': Wired Bodies in the Wireless Classroom" by Kevin M. Leander for this weeks reading I reflected my own education over the years and how technology has helped or hindered me in the classroom.

Being older than the typical student does take me way back to the stone age when it comes to discussing my K-12 education. In grade and middle school the technologies used were simple, in K-8 there was not even a copy machine as we know it today. Teachers used what was called a "ditto machine" and they used "ditto paper." If you have never heard of "dittos" check out this link. Other than "dittos" we had filmstrips, I think it was about 5th grade when the started to include cassette players and that opened a whole new world of filmstrip fun! I also recall special days when the teacher would bring in a movie projector and we would watch, generally an ancient, movie. On really, really special days...they would roll a TV into class and we would watch a live broadcast. Their were no VCRs back then, so you watched live or you did not watch at all.

In high school things began to change a bit, it was the early 80's so technology began to creep into the classroom. In typing class you used an electric typewriter, unless you were bad, then you used a manual. Computer classes were offered; however, they were limited. The two computer labs had a total of 25 computers between the two of them. One lab had two Apples in it, the other had 23 Atari 800 XLs, the monitors for the Atari computers were 13" TV sets. We had a keyboard and a 5 1/4" floppy...that was the extent of the computers. Today, my phone has more computing power than those early PCs I learned on 25 years ago. Once a month in computer class if you finished your assignments you got to use the mainframe to play games. You would take the handset off of the phone and put the whole thing into the modem. You would type your commands into a keyboard, and watch them print on a printer. There was no monitor...we actually thought it was fun. While I was learning basic computing skills, I was also learning how to use a printing press, yes, a printing press. I can set type. Not a skill you really hear about these days.

In my first attempt at college...I had a desktop, it was not not powerful enough to do anything more than write papers. Technology though was prevalent throughout the school, this was in the early 90's and a technological revolution had happened while after high school and while I was in the military. Computers were everywhere in the school...drafting classes had been replaced with classes on AutoCad, I had to take a course on Word Perfect.

My second attempt at college 10 years later...was online...I had both a desktop and a laptop, I was working towards a degree in Information Technology. So Technology was at the forefront of my education.

Recently I had the chance to go back to my Alma mater for a tour as a part of my 25th class reunion...

This photo was the computer lab that only had two Apple computers in it when I attended.


That printing press I mentioned...it sat next to the windows in this room. You can see what has replaced it...I did have to laugh though, you cannot see it in this photo, but the floor, is still stained from the ink from all the years the printing press was in this room.
Should laptops be in the classroom? I honestly do not know the answer that question. I know that I find the having the Internet available to me at all times...is a bit of a distraction. While writing this blog I have checked out facebook multiple times, shopped for a new camera and sent several e-mails. I cannot imagine how distracting it would be to have all of that available at my fingertips during a long boring lecture an Macro-economics. I also cannot see concentrating on the lecture to the sound of multiple people typing loudly (Some people type louder than others). When you throw in security and privacy issues, it becomes an even greater dilemma...what do you block, what do you allow...how do you balance a students right to freedom of expression with that same students safety.