by Charles Sipe

I was at Costco yesterday and stumbled upon a Acer netbook that was advertised for $300. My first thought was, what a great thing to have for my family member who is in the 8th grade because it would give him instant access to almost infinite knowledge. My next thought was, wouldn’t it be wonderful if every student in America was issued a netbook for school? Certainly it would save money since a netbook is about the same price of a couple textbooks. In the age of information, shouldn’t students be given the tools to be effective in an information driven society. But then I asked my family member if his school allows students to use laptops in class. “Probably not”, he replied. I realized that many teachers would likely view laptops as a distraction. Students are often too uninspired and unengaged with what is being taught and teachers would find it too difficult to get students to pay attention.

I think this point of view is totally missing out the tremendous opportunity that new technology has presented our young people. Should the classrooms limit students to 19th century tools for the sake of the traditional methods of teaching that reward the students who can sit quietly and have the best concentration and memorization skills? Is memorization even relevant in the present day when information can be found in seconds online? I think not. But if you disagree, please leave your comments.

Photo by One Laptop per Child