Education's love, hate relationship with technology

Education has been in a love-hate relationship with technology ever since Abraham Lincoln did his homework on the back of a shovel with a lump of coal.

We remember when the first personal computers arrived in high schools more than 30 years ago, but it's hard for most students to imagine doing homework without access to a desktop or laptop computer.

Schools have invested in computer labs, but bricks and mortar are more and more irrelevant as learning moves into the digital age.

North Carolina State University made the point with research that shows that one way to cut down on costs and simultaneously improve the educational experience is by using the laptop computers they already own.

Rather than dedicated computer labs, the researchers launched a pilot project providing wireless Internet access and power outlets in writing classrooms.

"The cost of setting up a classroom like this is minimal, compared to setting up new computer classrooms, which is essential, given budget constraints and the limited availability of new space -- you're converting existing classrooms rather than creating new computer labs," said Dr. Susan Miller-Cochran, co-author of the study and associate professor of English at NC State.

Using 28 class sections taught over three semesters, researchers created a fleet of laptops for students to sign out, if needed.

They found that students were more focused on doing their work because of familiarity with the technology, and more likely to take their work with them.

Not everyone is a fan of laptop computers, however, with many professors at many colleges banning laptops from their classrooms altogether.

A popular YouTube video, for example, featured a physics professor at the University of Oklahoma pouring liquid nitrogen onto a laptop and shattering it on the floor -- a not-too-subtle warning against powering up during class.

There admittedly are many problems with laptops in classrooms -- constant checking of Twitter or Facebook, for instance, as well as visiting unauthorized sites and loss or abuse of school-owned equipment. Easily-distracted teenagers aren't likely to improve their grades by having the World Wide Web available at their fingertips during classtime.

But those same students will have to learn to deal with electronic distractions when they move into the workforce, where most jobs depend on the use of a computer in some form or another.

Plus, with many of the activities which could formerly only be done on computers moving to sophisticated cellular phones, whether a laptop is available or not becomes a moot point.