Education and Computers

¶ … Education and computers [...] college or university with no desktop computers for students to use, and how this wireless and LAN environment would change the educational process. The traditional educational process is brick-and-mortar based, and depends on classroom interaction and discussion. Classrooms of the future could be virtual, and the need for traditional college campuses might fade away.

Education and Computers The absence of desktop computers in the educational environment might be difficult to cope with at first, however, providing each student with a wireless notebook computer could eventually prove to be more convenient for the students, and would certainly change the educational process in a wide variety of ways.

One expert believes there are four different types of students One type is the "empty student," those who have need for certain skills, information, and knowledge, but have little idea about what they need to know and/or how it might be acquired. More directed in their efforts are the "searching students," who need an environment in which they can carry out their learning, but require less direction and/or motivation to guide this process.

Another type is the "creative student," whose need is for the tools which facilitate creative work, not the foundational skills and knowledge which underlie that work. Finally, the "social students" need interaction with their peers and the world at large in order to solidify their learning, deepen their understanding, and further develop their creative abilities (Ragsdale 160). Clearly, the use of laptop computers in education would affect each of these types of students differently.

The empty student might not know or understand what it is they need to find via the computer, and might not speak up. The searching student might utilize the laptop more effectively, but might not get the benefit of classroom discussion if they spend too much time searching on their own. The creative student would probably benefit the most from the laptop environment, because they could use the computer to tap into their creativity at any time - day or night.

However, the social student would probably suffer the most, as they would continually crave the interaction that a row of desktop computers in the library (or anywhere) brings, and they might suffer under the more solitary experience of a single laptop used anywhere. This new approach to learning would certainly affect the students, but it would also affect the learning experience itself. Some professors may be computer phobic, and some students may be, too.

Students come from all age groups, economic levels, and social backgrounds, and expecting all students and all professors to immediately comprehend the wireless and plugged-in world of laptops may not be realistic. Classroom attendance might fall if the students could plug-in to an online classroom, or download class notes uploaded by other students or by the professor. In the future, brick and mortal classrooms might not be necessary.

Virtual classrooms, accessible by each student and each instructor could take the place of traditional classrooms, and not only save the school money, but save valuable land and expansion space, too. Classrooms are already becoming much more technology based, but if classrooms were unnecessary, the technology could be expanded to the LAN, and more students would have access to communal information from all classes, not just one class. A plugged-in educational system also changes the way students access information, and literally does.