[LM_NET] Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops

[Nancy Willard <nwillard@CSRIU.ORG>]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/education/04laptop.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slog
in&pagewanted=all.

As you all know I am a proponent of effective use of technology. I am not a
proponent of school-wide laptop programs.

I believe that omnipresent computers interfere with the very important
teacher student relationships. I think students do not engage in effective
educational activities using these computers -- they use them primarily for
social networking and game playing.

Further, district have significantly increased liability concerns because of
cyberbullying. 

Do not think that the district filters will prevent problems. My older
children tell me that middle and high school students know how to easily get
around our district's filter.

There are appropriate places for the effective educational uses of
computers. But these school-wide laptop programs are, in my opinion, a real
mistake. Some of you know that I have been raising concerns for a long time.
I think more and more evidence is coming in to support these concerns.

Nancy

-- 
Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D.
Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
http://csriu.org
http://cyberbully.org
http://cyber-safe-kids.com
nwillard@csriu.org

Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social
Aggression, Threats, and Distress (Research Press)

Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens: Helping Young People Learn to Use the
Internet Safely and Responsibly (Jossey-Bass)

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