Journal #3: Keeping the Peace NETS III & V

Livingston, M . (2010). Keeping the peace. L&L, 37(5), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume3720092010/FebruaryNo5/L_L_February_2010.htm

According to author Michael Bugeja, from the New York Times, "the baby boomers seem to see technology as information and communication. Their offspring and the emerging generation seem to see the same devices as entertainment and socializing." This is true since todays youth communicate over text messaging rather than calling the person. This article disscusses the pros adn cons of using laptops in a classroom. Some state that a student should have the freedom to explore and learn. Others however felt blindedsighted by laptop use in the classroom and had no say in the matter. One school banned iChat from the schools' laptops, however, "the situation turned into an issue of freedom of speech. But from the school's perspective, the academic purpose of the laptops had disappeared into a vortex of social networking, especially when it was occurring during the school day." I believe that the majority of students have computers at home and have cell phones and the knowledge of how to use them. There is no need for individual laptops in the classroom on a daily basis. Students can learn just fine with a pen and paper. The school has a bootcamp every year to orient incomming students on the proper way to use the computers and the acceptable-use policies.

Would I use laptops in my classroom if the oppertunity was available? I would not use laptops in my class on a daily basis. I plan on becoming an English teacher, therefore reading, grammar, and writing can all be done on a piece of paper. I do not believe that just because the technology is available as readily as it is, schools need to encompass their curriculum around it.
Do laptops in the classroom create more harm than good? I do believe there is a time and place where computers are purposeful and benificial to students. However, to a youth, communters are seen as a socializing device. With textmessaging in class, there will now be new programs developed to allow students to communicate even if major IM cites have been blocked.