SMART Day 4: Teaching With The Tools Kids Really Use, Chapter 4

In Chapter 4 of Teaching With The Tools Kids Really Use, Brooks-Young discusses the idea of using small, portable laptops known as netbooks in the classroom. Though the author focuses heavily on several different types of netbooks, some of the chapter does cover the classroom implications such devices can have. The idea behind each student having an Internet ready machine and using it for classroom instruction is known as one to one computing. Brooks-Young mentions this concept briefly, but does not really address if its a bad or good thing for classrooms today. My personal opinion leads me to conclude that one to one networking has its place in the classroom as long as the teacher does not solely replace all classroom interaction with a machine. Student's still need to know how to communicate and interact with groups. After all part of the education system is to teach students real world skills. I can see one to one computing, when each student has their own Internet ready, mini laptop, having a huge impact in classrooms or the classrooms that use them correctly. With everything that we have been learning with Google, it only makes sense to allow for students to use this type of hands on technology. Especially more so now since classrooms are starting to focus more and more on technology use and implications. I can see one to one computing becoming like reading. Each student is expected to know how to read before leaving kindergarten. In this case each student is expected to know how to use the basic features of a netbook prior to advancing to the next grade, problem is when do students need to use this type of technology in the classroom? I'll leave that as a whole other question.

Chapter 4 does not discuss or mention any connection to the phenomenon known as tablet computing. It appears to me that this is a fairly knew idea of interacting with the Internet; users no longer need a keyboard or mouse, they simply touch what they want to do on the screen. The most popular tablet that I can think of today is the Apple iPad. It is only a little over a year old but the buzz it is generating is beyond what anyone expected, including Apple Inc. Netbooks seemed to be the thing to use in the classrooms prior to the introduction of tablet computers, but now that tablets are being massed produced they are making their way into the hands of more and more students. Both types of technology, the netbook and the tablet computer (in this case the iPad), have advantages and disadvantages when used in the classroom atmosphere. In this instance, the advantages way surpasses the disadvantages. Some disadvantages I can see right from the start would be controlling what students access on the internet. Especially more so with the iPad than the netbook. Students have no limitations with what they access when the internet is literally in their hands. This would just require for the schools technology coordinator to set limits on the server side of things and students to abide by the schools internet use policy. Another disadvantage I can see is storage and charging issues. The teacher would have to find a place to charge these devices throughout the day and store them when not in use. The advantages I can see is that they allow children to interact in a much deeper level and go further with their learning. With the iPad students have access to countless Apps that make everyday learning seem like it's something of the past. Netbooks allow each student to use the internet and productivity suites to their fullest potential. Goodbye pen and paper, hello mouse and keyboard.