One for One, One for All

As the first decade of the 21st century lingers on, one constant remains--technology rules the world. New products are released routinely allowing workers to work faster and smarter than ever before. The drive to excel is thrust on students daily and technology holds the key to a teenager’s future. With kids buying more iPods, cell phones, and laptops than ever before, one is driven to ask: “Should schools embrace technology and, perhaps provide each student with a laptop?” Gary Stager, from the Irving Independent School District believes “technology, as a tool, has the ability to drastically change teaching and learning, and when coupled with student laptops [available 24/7], our students will be empowered for their future”. In addition, many people believe that students perform better on standardized tests when every student has a laptop at his/her disposal. A one-to-one laptop program, sponsored by the school, would allow every student to own a laptop computer that would be loaded with productivity software (word processing, presentations, et cetera) and enable students to access the school’s wireless internet. Although technology is expensive, it should be used in high schools because technology plays such a significant role in society, a one to one laptop program should be embraced by all high schools.

With a one-to-one laptop program, the days of ripped textbooks, broken bindings, and number documentation would be tasks of the past. If every student owned a laptop, kids would have their entire curriculum at their fingertips and would never have to worry about leaving an assignment or book at school. Although some say reading from a computer distracts from the hands on experience of a book, a tablet (touch screen) lapt...

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...a one-to-one laptop program can improve student scores on academic tests and help the student gain more knowledge in the real world. Laptops provide many unique opportunities of learning that simply exceed the benefits of the overhead projector. With a computer, students can gain the personal power to advance their skills in all of their core subject areas. A laptop makes ripped pages and broken bindings a thing of the past. Students’ writing skills improve in addition to collaborative learning. At a glance, the idea may seem expensive; however, there are many funding opportunities available which can offset the cost. If the United States of America is truly set on improving student performance, VCRs and chalkboards need to become a thing of the past. It is time to start with a "clean slate"," erase" all of the old technology, and power up into the 21st century.