Laptops in the classroom: Mend it, don't end it

Teachers: Step down as the sage on the stage and learn to be the guide on the side.

from the May 15, 2007 edition

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Students are working individually or in small teams to solve engaging problems or answer compelling questions. They are synthesizing their own experience, ideas from the professor, and sources that they can find on the Web. They are talking with classmates, but they are also collaborating with people outside the classroom walls by e-mailing experts, posting to blogs, or editing pages on wikis (websites that allow users to add, remove, or edit content). The teacher has come down from the lectern and is moving throughout the room, watching what students are doing, asking questions, posing challenges, and brushing shoulders with the student who just checked the scores on ESPN.com.

Periodically the action is stopped. The teacher instructs the class to close their laptops, except perhaps one designated scribe. They talk. They share their insights, their solutions, and their obstacles. The Socratic exchange is fueled by the insights developed through electronic inquiry. The powerful face-to-face questioning isn't competing with the laptops; instead, it depends on it. When the dialogue ends, the teacher encourages students to reopen their notebook computers and summarize the important points of the conversation. Sometimes the instructor is delivering content, but more often the teacher is helping students learn how to learn.

Instructional changes in today's classrooms need to be as radical as the technological innovations that spark them, and university administrators must recognize that upgrading the network won't deliver results without upgrading the instruction. Schools can't expect overburdened teachers to leap into the 21st century in their spare minutes, and faculty will need grants, time, and resources to advance their teaching.

The best method for infusing technology into the curriculum is to support a few innovative teachers in developing new courses that use computers to enhance the academic culture of the school. Further financial support can help other teachers borrow best practices from the pioneers.

If schools are unwilling to provide the same support to teachers as they do to network technicians, then perhaps it's best for institutions to stick with trusted 19th-century resources. Older teaching methods are adapted to older technologies. If schools stick with the traditional pedagogy, then it's probably best to check the laptops at the door.

In the long run, though, the strongest educational institutions won't be the ones that leave laptops out; they will be those that discover the most powerful ways to bring them in.

• Justin Reich is codirector of the Center for Teaching History with Technology ( www.thwt.org ) and coauthor of the forthcoming "Teacher's Guide to Teaching History and English with Technology."

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