Should students have laptops?

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The use of laptop computers allows students to carry with them, always, an educational tool that can be of great value. Unfortunately, this comes at great expense. Do you think students should be equiped with their own laptop? For what grades? Who pays?

What do you think?

-- Peter draus (draus@alex.walsh.edu), June 17, 1998

Answers

Outfitting a student with a laptop, and software could easily cost $2,500/year. This does not take into account personnel support costs, or networks infrastructure support that would be required. So, for a class of 25 students, $62,500 would be needed after setting up and maintaining the neccessary infrastructure. That amount of money would pay to split the class in half. Instead of giving each kid a laptop, you could hire another teacher.

Is it better to have a class of 25 kids with laptops, or classes of 12 students without laptops?

-- Peter draus (draus@alex.walsh.edu), June 22, 1998.


Lab tops are a great way for the students to have unlimited access to computers. The problem I see is who is going to take care of the computers when they crash or a student does damage to the hard drive? A new full time computer tech. would be needed to help with this, which is even more money.

-- Rochelle Leifheit (leifhe@gabriel.walsh.edu.), June 18, 1998.

Yes I feel that students should be equipped with thier own laptop because they could then acqire the information that is needed from anywhere. Also I feel that the convience of having the laptop with the student,will enhance the use of the labtop.

-- angela manderine (mander@gabriel.walsh.edu), June 18, 1998.

Laptops are great for many students, but not all. Laptop computers should be an optional sign out media on a weekly basis. Students interested should leave a deposit and not be allowed to take any futher classes or to recieve grades if their contract for the signed out laptop is not fulfilled.

-- Laura Kessler (kessle@gabriel.walsh.edu), June 18, 1998.

Not only students should have labtop computers but everyone should have them, because technology is changing so rapidly, people need to keep up with the latest technologies.

-- angela jackson (jackso@gabriel.walsh.edu), June 18, 1998.


Yes I believe that all student above the 9th grade should have laptops. They are an excellent tool for all the grades but I think that the cost involved would necessate some measure of responsibity before a student should receive one. When they reach the age of fourteen then I believe that the schools system should buy the students a laptop with some degree of parental support.

-- Paul Beucler (beucle@gabriel.walsh.edu), June 18, 1998.

Yes, laptops are a very nice idea, but too expensive for many students. They can provide lots of educational information. Laptops should be for the high school level. The board of education should pay for these with grants or fundraisers. Some parents could probably afford them but many could not.

-- Terry Burns (burns@gabriel.walsh.edu), June 18, 1998.

It would be nice if every child could have access to a laptop as soon as possible because this technology is the way of the future. Someday, the teacher would give the supply list at the beginning of the year and it would include crayons, pencils etc. and a laptop. But it is too expensive to be a requirement for all students and not until laptops are inexpensive (like a calculator) could schools expect it to be a necessity.

-- Susan F Oliver (Oliver@gabriel.walsh.edu), June 18, 1998.

Not all students should have laptops in our schools. This would be a huge waste of money, and added burden to the taxpayers. School systems are already financially strapped. This added cost would financially ruin many systems. Adequate school computer labs are more than enough to meet the demands of the average student. It also allows the instructor to monitor computer use, a luxury unavailable if students had laptops.

-- Rick Sims (sims@gabriel.walsh.edu), June 18, 1998.

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