Blog #4

Bibliography 4

McKenzie, Jamie (2010). Over-Equipped? Is it possible to have too many laptops? [Electronic version]. from now on: the educational technology journal 20, 1.  Retrieved on November 6, 2010 from http://fno.org/sept2010/overequipped.html.

This article’s focus was to determine if it is necessary for every single student in the classroom to have a laptop.  The article states that it has been assumed that all students should have their own laptop.  Each student having his or her own laptop can be beneficial when working on a personal assignment.  However, a single laptop amongst a group of students working coherently provides a more effective learning experience.

In the article, six teachers in Tasmania attended a Professional development program.  The teachers were to interpret a painting.  Each teacher used their own laptop for a given assignment, and later used 1 laptop when interacting with each other on the assignment.  The use of the single laptop was more beneficial to the learning process because the teachers were able to interact with each other.  The article also suggested that having a laptop does not necessarily make students better readers, writers, or thinkers (Mckenzie 2010, 1).  It depends on how the students are using the laptop that makes a difference.  Many teachers have discovered that activities work better when students are interacting with each other instead of being isolated.  Students isolate themselves when working on a single laptop, but are interactive with each other when working in a group on a single laptop.

This article does not provide adequate generalizations for students. The article shows limitations because it provides research on the use of laptops by teachers only instead of students.  The focus of the article was student interaction with laptops in the classroom, not teachers.  I think that the article should have more evidence for student interaction and not just teacher interaction, if the overall viewpoint is student interaction on laptops.