Orange County Schools recently began its 1:1 Laptop Initiative, which issued more than 4,100 laptops to middle and high school students to revamp learning.
The school system should work to ensure that the program, posing a cost of $2.6 million and still in its early stages, does not present obstacles to direct instruction in the classroom.
College students are acutely aware of the potential hazards posed by computers in the classroom. Social networking sites and email alone can present ample distraction. Internet access can enhance the learning process, but it can also disrupt it.
Even without Internet access, there are still applications that could distract.
The idea of a classroom is based on direct instruction; laptops could potentially hinder this, with the screen directly in between the students and the teacher.
That being said, laptops filling the classroom is a novel idea, and its potential should be vigorously pursued.
In offering equal access to such technology, the school system is giving a boost to underprivileged families. Students without access to a computer at home will benefit immensely from the system’s investment.
But, as with all new initiatives, this one has the potential to become inefficient and even harmful to the learning process.
The school system and its individual schools should take care to monitor the laptop initiative’s progress, keeping an eye towards enhancement of direct instruction.
