Laptops for all: teaching tool or whole new distraction?

By Helly Soni

They call them laptops, but here at BHS, if students have them, the convenient devices spend their days in school lockers or at home on desks.

Starting in September of 2011, however, laptops are going to be where they belong...

That fall, Mr. Larkin plans to have every student using a laptop in just about every class – making BHS one of the first so-called 1:1 schools in Massachusetts.

“We need to move our schools away from teacher-centered schools to learner-centered schools. Moving to 1:1 is a perfect opportunity to make this change,” Mr. Larkin wrote in an online education magazine last month.

Teachers worry that with every student holding a laptop, the amount of drifting off would increase, with games or other activities students do online.

“I really wouldn’t know what they’re doing,” English teacher Mrs. Rose says of her students. “I’m up front and they are behind laptops.”

Administrators acknowledge that computers at every desk could cause distraction, but they are trying to find a way to “control the crowd,” as Mr. Sheehan says, possibly through some kind of monitoring software so teachers could see the screens of the students on their own computers.

The other worry for teachers is that most are not used to using technology in their everyday teaching. Mr. Larkin says that teachers will be given time to get used to the idea before the big change in 2011.

The concept of 1:1 computing can apply to any device, but the plan is to have every student at BHS using a laptop. In the future years, students might be able to choose other devices.

Most students who hear about the 1:1 plan are fascinated with the idea, but some are concerned about not owning a laptop.

Mr. Larkin hopes to get companies such as HP, Apple, and Dell to agree to provide laptops at prices as low as $300. If students can’t buy a laptop on their own, the school will help them buy one or even provide a school laptop.

“Laptops would make classes more fun and taking notes would be so much easier!” Junior Jennifer Gregorio says.

English teacher Mr. Calvin, who traveled to Iowa with Mr. Larkin in April to visit a school that adopted the 1:1 system this year, says students in 1:1 schools use their laptops not just for notes but for projects, research, labs, or even virtual trips. The laptops provide a way for students to interact without raising their hands and speaking out loud. It also allows teachers to see what students are doing without walking up behind them and looking down.

“You can record a seminar or a lecture and you can type notes, which reduce paper use,” says Freshmen Anjali Pandey.

Laptops are expected to become the new alternative to textbooks. With textbooks typically costing about $600 per student that could add up to major savings for the school – and less weight in student knapsacks.

“You would literally only need to bring a notebook to class,” says Senior Andrea Sheehy. She also mentioned being eco-friendly; the school could donate textbooks.

History teacher Mrs. Carey envisions students researching in class. Many history textbooks are already online, and since history is related to world and current events found online, she believes it would be easier for students to take notes and write essays on a laptop rather than on paper.

The Math department is also expected to benefit. “There are programs online that will make it easier,” Mr. Sheehan said. Using Laptops makes English class easier, for writing essays or reading online books, and gives more freedom to science teachers for research or for showing videos or illustrations.

The first step for the new system is already in place, with the school using $1.5 million from from the state government to equip the building for wireless Internet. This will allow teachers and students to log on to the system from anywhere and access programs relating to school.

Mr. Woodbury’s math classes are the closest in the school to using a 1:1 system now, with a classroom set of i-Touch devices, which they use for tests and in-class research.

Mrs. Carey, however, is worried about being able to control students on laptops. “I’m worried about being able to monitor them all,” she says. “[What] if they’re on Facebook or something like that?”

Administrators recognize the concern.

The use of technology creates another set of problems and always “someone will… try and break the rules” Mr. Sheehan says. There will likely be firewalls and blocks on certain websites, although Facebook and Youtube were just unblocked this year in favor of giving students more freedom and responsibility.

Another concern from Mrs. Carey is: “What would happen if the system went down?”

Superintendent Conti says the school’s technicians will be working to keep that from happening as much as possible.

Students, meanwhile, worry about their laptops breaking down.

“If a pen breaks, you can ask a classmate for a new one,” Senior Andrew Maurer explains. “If your laptop breaks, you have to spend a whole class trying to fix it.”

Another concern from Andrew is charging: “Laptop batteries might not last through the school day.”

Teachers are worried about incorporating technology into their curriculum.

“I’ve not been trained for that, so it’ll be more training on my part,” says Mrs. DeBellis. She, however, does like the idea that 1:1 will give students more access to learn about things that are discussed class.

McSheehy, the senior, thinks the 1:1 system is a good way to make class interactive. She doesn’t worry that more students will be distracted; she thinks the same students who are normally distracted will just have something new to distract them. She asks, “Do you think those students are going to do their work anyway?”

In schools that already have 1:1, Mr. Larkin says students and teachers had many of the same concerns as the students and teachers at BHS. In those schools, he says, the problems of distraction, classroom management, and technical issues turn out to be much the same with the laptops as they were before.