In my last blog post I provided a link to an article that gave a description of the potential good and bad that can come from having laptops in a classroom setting. In this post I am going to discuss the best arguments from each side of the debate.
During my undergraduate career, I had Professors that encouraged laptops in the classroom and I also had Professors that banned them. Those that encouraged laptops suggested that students use them as a tool to gather information, take notes, or download the lecture materials to follow along during class. The Profossers that banned laptops from the classroom thought them to be a distraction that prevented students form fully engaging in the day's discussion, often tempting students to browse the web, play computer games, or work on other assignments not appropriate for the topic being discussed that day.
In a college classroom setting, the introduction of laptops has a much different result than if laptops were introduced into an elementary school classroom. Right now, I am going to focus more on the the main arguments for and against laptops in an elementary school setting.
One of the main arguments in favor of laptops in education is through interactive learning students will engage more and therefore their learning experience would be enhanced. The One Laptop Per Child movement focuses on providing each and every child with a internet-capable laptop complete with educational software. The following is a link to their website with their mission statement;
http://www.laptop.org/en/vision/index.shtml
They believe that, "When children have access to this type of tool they get engaged in their own education." In other words, they believe that by providing children with an educational tool that they can carry with them at all times they will be able to find joy in "self-empowered" learning.
The main argument opposing laptops in the classroom is that such an emphasis on technology retracts from the actual learning that should be taking place. The argument is that laptops in the classroom mean less student-teacher interaction. With students using laptops in the classroom, teachers often times are unfamiliar how to best utilize them so students end up spending too much time "researching" on the internet and not enough time interacting with the teacher and their fellow students.
Both sides seem to have valid points. Which side do you think has the more credible argument?
In my next post I will provide some information from studies done to determine the affects laptops have on children in the classroom.
