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LAPTOP USE IN MODERN CLASSROOMS
Laptop use in Modern Classrooms
Joseph Frederic
Western Oregon University
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LAPTOP USE IN MODERN CLASSROOMS
Laptop use in modern Classrooms
While there are both benefits and problems associated with the active use of Laptop
computers during class, it seems that most students consider it to be beneficial to their study
habits over all. How much can we expect the classroom atmosphere to change as the traditional
structure of the instructional environment adapts to this new and likely permanent change? Let
us consider the matter in some detail.
After reading Robin H Kay in the 2011 article from the Canadian Journal of Learning and
technology we can consider the 2009 survey in which students described their own experiences
using laptops and the experience of participating in class while their classmates also engaged in
use of laptops. Seventy-five percent of students surveyed reported that while they liked using
them and found them helpful; the sound of other students doing the same could be a distraction.
A similar majority of students surveyed suggested that the instant messaging of others during
class was a significant distraction as were e mails, computer games, music and movies being
watched during class. Yet the advantages of having the laptop to use at all times provided
students with greater communication with faculty and classmates as well as increased access to
supplemental resources online.
We can gather from the previously mentioned article that students seem willing to accept
the potential distractions of laptop use to have the benefits they provide, but how will instruction
change by including computers in the educational process. Ismail Sahin had some information to
offer on this subject in the International Society for Technology in Education’s Journal of
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Computing in Teacher Education. There he explained an interesting detail. His study provided
evidence that the growing proficiency, among teachers, in mainstream computer use did not have
a positive impact upon their skill in using computers for instruction. While they might send
more e mails and have access to online resources, the familiarity with general computer use did
not directly influence how integrated such tools were in those teachers classes in the form of
tutorials, simulations or educational games. In his effort to uncover why this might be true he
noticed that the environmental availability and context of computers in an environment directly
influenced teacher’s proficiency. Teachers with computers in their offices at home proved better
at general use of those computers. However, because most teachers did not have computer
systems integrated into their instructional environments and did not receive support for those
systems from administration, they were not rated very highly in use of computers for
instructional purposes.
From these articles we can conclude that a transitional period is underway in modern
classrooms as instruction and school administrations begin to support the use of interactive
technologies in the instructional environment. Students are ready to move ahead with this
advancement and we who would be teachers must strive to find a balance in our own teaching
methods which makes productive use of available technology.
It is up to schools and
administration to support teachers in this way as students begin to demand it.
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LAPTOP USE IN MODERN CLASSROOMS
References
Kay R. H., Lauricella S. (2011). Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology. Exploring the
benefits and challenges of Using laptop computers in higher education classrooms: A
Formative Analysis. Ontario, Canada:
Sahin I. (2007-2008). Journal of Computing in Teacher Education. Faculty Instructional
Computer use Model: Differentiating Instructional and Mainstream computer Uses.
Volume 24 (2007-2008). Publication of the International Society for Technology in
Education.