With the increase in wireless network usage, laptops can now access network resources at par with desktops, such as a printer or the Internet, without wires. Students can access information relevant to class work within minutes in the comfort of their classroom.
C - Impact Of The Issue
Implementation of laptop usage has led to an increase in student engagement, determined by higher attendance rates and fewer disciplinary problems (Swygert, 2003). Laptops tend to make the writing and rewriting process easier and students prefer typing more than handwriting, however the laptops only facilitate the whole process. Writing is a mental process, and the computer can’t think for them. (Weisenbach, 2006).
Laptops can also help children with learning disabilities. Normally, these children would fall behind their peers but laptops empower these students to pull themselves up by the proverbial bootstraps (Brodsky, 2005). Studies indicate that disabled students who frequently used laptops made statistically significant improvement in the quality and quantity of their written work. (NCIP, 1998). For example, students with hearing disabilities can use speech development software such as Flash Pro 2 to practice speech with a computer while receiving feedback on their efforts in real-time.
However, a major problem is students using the laptops for something other than class work during school hours, hampering the education they receive. Schools have several complaints about this, such as student’s multiplayer games over the wireless network available to them, using IM clients, e-mailing friends and many such distractions.
Also, students and teachers will have to receive prior training before being issued laptops. A technical team will also have to be hired by the educational institutes to solve on-site issues as they occur. All these factors must be taken into consideration.
The average laptop price in 2006 was about $1000. Incidentally, laptop manufacturers have been forced to lower prices due to rising demand from college-going students (Derlin, 2006). However, poorer sections of society might be unable to avail of this facility due to this hefty price tag. Hence, to avoid economic discrimination between the students, provisions for loans and programs should be made available to facilitate the purchase of laptops for each student.
The main thing to realize is that a laptop classroom is actually incorporating two facilities into one. If teachers want to teach in the orthodox way, they can instruct students to turn off their laptops. When laptops are needed to facilitate the teaching process, they can be turned on. One can move seamlessly between these two scenarios and when implemented correctly, can be exploited to great advantage. (Levine, Date Unknown). The advantages definitely outweigh the disadvantages, and when care is taken, the rewards to both students and teachers can be immense.
D - Solution To Problem Arising from the Issue
As identified above, the most significant problem is students using laptops for activities other than class work, and as a result getting distracted in class.
Schools can purchase monitoring software to control the usage of laptops on their network. Such software requires students to login before enabling access to the network, and also notifies the students that they are being monitored. The software can be configured to block unproductive websites, games and IM software easily, and can also create time-based policies with ease. For example, students can be allowed access to their e-mail during lunch time, and this can again be blocked automatically when classes resume. Website logs are also maintained so that every aspect of network usage can be monitored. Screenshots of student’s laptop screens can also be taken at regular intervals, leaving a very small gap for any sort of misuse.
However, software solutions are expensive, and can be circumvented if configured incorrectly. Authorities must ensure that the software is configured correctly, leaving no loopholes open for students to exploit. If implemented correctly, this proves to be a feasible, lasting solution for the problem identified above.
E - Selection and Use of Sources
Bibliography
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NEWS ITEM – EXTRACT
Students pursuing higher education may soon be provided with laptops going by the recommendations of the Oversight Committee. The committee headed by former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily, which went into the issue of preparing a roadmap for the implementation of 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Castes in higher educational institutions, has also suggested that teachers too should have laptops.
"The committee feels that there is a need for a mindset change and it has to be accepted that the laptop should been seen as the entry device to get connected to the knowledge world in cyberspace," the committee said in its final report submitted to the Prime minister's Office.
"Every student and every teacher should be given such a device on an ownership basis and the process should be facilitated by bank loans," the report said. Time has come and it is necessary to mandate and facilitate the purchase of personal computers and laptops for each student, it said
