I’m sitting in the airport in Memphis, and thrilled to find six power outlets in this one gate. This is a real rarity, as people want to get a little more word done before they get on the plane, hopping to have a full battery charge. The Laptop institute was a real treat and my final roundtable session was most instructive. The issues that were discussed were pretty exclusively limited to laptop and tablet concerns, so I learned a lot. I also recorded the entire discussion, so it may appear as one of my future podcasts.
There seemed to be much interest in tablet PCs for a variety of reasons. One interesting comment that was made referred to the fact that laptops, raised on the desk, cause a sense of separation between the teacher and the student. I suspect that this not a trivial issue, because I have heard to concern not only from teachers, but also from business people who object to the separation. With tablet PCs we’re putting work back on the desk, instead of against a wall. At any rate, there seemed to be two fairly distinct schools of thought here.
Finally, I had a conversation on the bus this morning with two educators who teach in New Brunswick, Canada. Their school was one of three English schools in that that province and three French-speaking schools that have been equipped for 1:1 teaching and learning. They told me that although the final report for the pilot is not due until August, the province has decided to begin phasing in laptops based on preliminary findings. I think that giving students and teachers ubiquitous access to contemporary information technology will happen. It’s a matter of when, not if. The sooner the better.
Here is a link to the New Brunswick press release, sent to me later by Jeff Whipple.
“2,900 Students to have Notebook Computer in Fall 2006.” Communications New Brunswick. 22 Jun 2006. 18 Jul 2006 <http://www1.gnb.ca/cnb/multimedia/display-e.asp?id=682&num=1>.
Technorati Tags: laptopinst, laptopinst06, warlick
I had never thought about how a laptop screen could cause a sense of separation between teaher and student. Thanks for sharing that concern, it has given me something to think about and discuss with teachers within my district. I am interested in learning more about the “business” objection to laptop screens in the classroom.
Brian
I spoke from a conversation that I had with a technology team in Colorado where all members had tablet PCs with them during meetings. One of the tablets brokedown and had to be sent off for repair, so that team members had to use a laptop at the meetings. The members all commented on the sudden sense of separation between them and the laptop users.
I suspect that this is not any kind of significant barrier, yet worth noting. I was far more interested in the sense that students are taking their work back down to their desks, rather than on the wall (a laptop screen up in front of them).
I really got the sense at this converence that tables are gaining some momentum…