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Re: Laptop requirement?



There are really two threads going on here. One thread (the one I first
responded to) deals with whether it makes sense to have students have
laptops that they bring to class each day. The second thread has to do with
what kinds of things (such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint) students might do
with computers.

These are very different topics. The second topic does not require laptops;
it simply requires computer accessibility in some form. The accessibility
might be a microcomputer laboratory, or a computer room in each dorm, or a
desktop computer in each dorm room.

We do not have a laptop requirement for students although it is under
consideration. Although the number of students with computers in their
rooms grows each year, that number is still much lower than 50%. Yet I
expect lab reports created with a word processor. I expect calculations to
be done with Excel or similar spreadsheet software. I expect graphs from
Excel or Axum or Maple or some other software that can make nice graphs.
And this is what I get. Some students with no computer experience before
coming to college struggle a bit at first, but they come around pretty
quickly.

The main thing that makes this possible is very high computer accessibility
on our campus even though students don't own their own computers. Every
academic department has a microcomputer "facility" for students. The dorms
have microcomputer labs. The library has a computer lab. The primary
academic classroom building has a lab. The student center has a lab. Etc.

Students can learn this stuff on their own, or from lab tutors, or by taking
a 2-hour class on Using Microcomputers. All I do is provide some specific
pointers about what I expect in my courses.

* * * *

What I was reacting to was the idea that every student would bring a laptop
computer to every class. This is the thinking of quite a few people. We
have spent a fortune wiring our classrooms so every seat has campus network
and Internet capability. All the student has to do is sit down, plug in,
boot up... and tune me out.

The idea some have stated about "monitors off" or "laptop screens down" is a
contradiction to the overall idea. There is no reason for everyone to lug
laptops into each class and boot them up if they aren't going to use them as
an integral part of the class. Although some students simply state they
want laptops in class simply to take notes, that's not the reason we are
considering laptops for all. The supporters foresee a much more active role
of the laptop in the lesson if we professors would just get in-line and
incorporate technology into our classes like we're supposed to.

I find it worthwhile for each student to have a computer in class if we are
trying to learn how to use specific software. But I don't do that very
much. I assign that as homework. I simply say, "set this up in Excel and
produce this graph." The students learn how to do that on their own outside
of class.

If I want the students to see something specific on the screen during class,
I run it on the classroom computer and project it with the LCD projector in
the classroom. There is no need for each student try to bring it up on
their own screen. What a waste of time and money that would be.

Maybe I'm getting too old for this. Maybe I'm not "engaging" the students
because I don't have little projects for them to do with their laptops for 5
or 10 minutes out of each class period. Has it come down to this? Are we
spending fortunes on hardware and wired classrooms simply so we can do
things in class that I expect students to do as homework?

The classroom I teach general physics in is wonderful. It has an $18,000
LCD projector shining on an automatic screen. The LCD projector can be fed
from a dedicated in-class computer, a document camera, a VCR, a DVD, or my
laptop. I have a preview screen so I can see what students see without
having to strain my neck to watch the same screen they watch. I also have a
marker board that stretches across the whole front of the room. The seats
are tiered and students can see me and hear me from every seat.

I do not avoid this technology. I use the projector every day, most often
with the document camera, but frequently with the computer, and occasionally
with the VCR or DVD to show movie clips. I take digital photographs of lab
equipment etc. and throw them on a CD and bring them to class.

However, unless I switch roles from physics teacher to computer teacher, I
see little reason for each student to have a laptop computer in my class.

Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D. Phone/voice-mail: 419-358-3270
Professor of Chemistry & Physics FAX: 419-358-3323
Chairman, Science Department E-Mail edmiston@bluffton.edu
Bluffton College
280 West College Avenue
Bluffton, OH 45817