I think they should inforce schools to have Laptops for school children. And they could have all school books on disks, homework sent to school from home. Schoolwork sent to teachers. And parent control the internet, or only allow so many website suggested by teachers and by students. With no need for paper we can save these trees everyoen is moaning about saving. Think back to when you was at school, or if you still are. The amount of paper you use each day. And what do you do with your school work. You etheir save it at home, or throw it away. Some people burn there work, like a ritual. But back to the point. The government should start this with all schools. I know they have got it with some schools and are testing it out. But they should really be going a much faster pace.

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There is still a money issue. One can't just go around making this mandatory, unless they're willing to help those who can't afford a laptop. And they would also have to instruct the students in how to work with a laptop properly. You can really mess up your hands if you don't type properly.

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From a early age they can have lessons on how to type probably. Laptops would be given free by the school, instead of pens, pencils and paper the schools currently use, they can get laptops. Not the best laptops, but average laptops.

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Why don't we just get rid of the Harry Potter books? Anyways, even with average laptops, the government will still be spending a lot of money. We are already in a big debt and we don't need it to go down anymore. If you type for a long time, you can get carpal tunnel. It's a good idea, but I think the government isn't willing to spend billions to save the environment.

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they are already speanding millions on paper, pencil, pens, books prices. Each year. At least with laptops all can be updated on the internet, by the goverment. Yes, it weill be a big price at the start, but in the long run they would be saving money.

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I can't see laptops making their way into schools. For starters the cost of a laptop... personally I spend less than 30 dollars a year on school supplies. There is no way I ( or my parents) are about to go out and buy a laptop, even if it is only 800$.

How long have you had to use a laptop? the screens give you a headache in less than a hour, let along a full day. plus unlike a desktop it is hard to get a laptop in a comfortable position to use the keyboard and mouse, and don't get me started on the little mouse pad.
Another thing is that the cost of a text book comes largely from people who worked on the book, not the paper it is printed on.

I don't know what age range you have in mind but I guess just about everyone like a good computer game.

At least teachers can see it when you are using a desktop, but laptops are easier to hide what you are doing.
I am sure that there has been research showing that it is harder to read off a computer screen as compared to paper. I take a law class online with a 70 page electronic text book. That text book is absolute hell. You can never find you spot in it, flipping from one section to another is extremely hard both on concentration and the eyes. In theory a electronic text book is a good idea, but you can hardly read it and I can guarantee you that I will be printing it all out at least 2 weeks before the final. I can hardly read the thing long enough to finish an assignment, let along study for the final.

Also you have hackers, not out in the world hackers, but students, with a bit of computer knowledge. Schools don't tend to to terribly good at keeping the security of the system, and if they are you can always play with the hardware. If they know teachers are completely dependent on computers then they will find a way to get a free class. We have pulled this with our Bio 30 teacher, just to get an extra 5 min of free class time we will unplug something on the computer with the projector. He spends a few minuets trying to find the computer assistant and we get class time to chat rather than write notes.


My biggest problem with computers is the way that you input information. Look at speed.. with a book you can quickly flip through pages, write anywhere on the page, and write quickly. On a computer you have to find the right file, scroll to the correct spot, put you curser somewhere and start typing. In a book you can change the style to writing instantly to make something stand out, with a computer you have to write it, select it, then spend a while looking through menus to find the format you want.
I would rather just set my hand on the page somewhere rather than grab the mouse click somewhere then move back to the keyboard.
the is the main reason that when ever I a programing, If I don't know how I am going to structure the program, I sit down with some paper, and start writing. Not the top to bottom style you get with a keyboard, but a mess of writing with arrows, scribbles, and underlines. Something that I would have to spend a lot longer to plan in my head before I started to write on the computer.


*edit* even rereading this post it is hard to read, you get lost following lines. why do you think that Ebooks never caught on?*/edit*

 

 

 

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I think this attitude is already being implemented in many schools or at least it is on its way. For my school, which is an institute of higher learning, we are slowly moving to the age of the time whereby every student is to have a laptop with him/her. For our final year project, the school loaned us 2 laptops for every 5 persons. So it is on its way but of course there is going to be some problems such as the cost of it. Imagine the school paying for 100 000+ laptops at least for my school? It is going to cost them a bomb to be buying laptops at SGD 2000 each, so they will be paying SGD 200 000 000 in total to support the students. Astonishing amount really, I can only think this is impossible to imagine that the school is going to purchase all these laptops at 1 shot, they could do it in variation every summer.

Lets not forget about the software licenses as well, there is bound to be software which the students have to use like VB.net, MSSQL, Office, Photoshop .... etc, and these licenses don't come cheap. So on the big picture, this will not be implemented straight away. What do you think?

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Oookay. Allow me the audacity to give a hypothetical situation:

Today's pre-school teacher has more than her handful, what with flying scissors, books and other toys on wheels that lay dangerously on the floor. Tomorrow's teacher will be driven insane, screaming, "Don't bang/hurl/throw/pee on/break/damage/kick/punch those )@mn laptops!"

Today's high school teacher is more than harried with missing test tubes, lost mouse balls, "misplaced" hammers, vanishing keyboards and even pilfered sheets of paper. Perhaps tomorrow's teacher will be dreading the loss of yet another laptop?

Allow me yet a simpler story:
Dear Diary,
My name is Angela. I am known to be a bully. Today, I punched Agnes in the gut but the second hit slipped and hit her lunch spilling orange juice on her homework. Her mom was furious 'coz I hit on her precious daughter but everyone else was indifferent 'coz Agnes is a total 3!+(# anyway.
I hate Agnes

Dear Diary,
My name is Angela. I am known to be a bully. Today, I punched Agnes in the gut but the second hit slipped and hit her lunch spilling orange juice on her homework. Her mom was furious 'coz I hit on her precious daughter. The teacher was furious because that meant Agnes can't work until the laptop's replaced/repaired. The principal is furious because that laptop was the school's property. My mom was furious because this is gonna be the third time I damaged a laptop so it means she's gonna have to pay up.
I hate Agnes

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Of course you would have to consider the fact about damage. But I've seen laptops, with metal casing. Which can take bullet shots, and depths of 100s of meters. They could just do the same for school children.

But, if our eduction is to get better, we need to get improments implmented. I learn more from this one forum, then I have from my whole school life.

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My private academy was talking about doing this very idea. Actually, I have no idea how thorough they were going to be in terms of not using so much paper and all. The teachers have the laptops that we are paying for instead in this "technology fee" as they are calling it on our bills. We pay extra money for this idea that we haven't even gotten to share in yet. The plan was to have the school get these laptops on some deal, and everyone was supposed to pay for them on their bill. Well, there was apparently enough fits thrown because the school did not want to let those who already have them use their own for whatever crazy reason, and now we're paying for the teachers computers instead of our own.

The idea could technically work, so long as every aspect is looked into with great detail. For a school like mine, we'd be paying for our own computers as part of our bill. Public schools would not necessarily have that luxury. What about the students attending such schools because the can not afford to attend a private school or anything. Not everyone can afford a laptop. My family can not afford to pay for two laptops just out of the blue or anything, we can hardly pay for our Christian education the public schools are so openly loving towards. *Ahem* moving on. How would the government pay for those students to have such products and all the components that would have to come with them (books on disk, school wide email to not deal with emails of assignments not making it to the teacher's box or whatever else would be needed)? Taxes. Suddenly, everyone one, those without children, those old people who've sent their kids through school already, and those who've put their children in private schools, suddenly all have to pay more taxes because they were raised to pay for these technology fees most of the population would not be able to pay for normally. On top of that, they would not just be raised just one time, they would have to keep raising it and lowering according to the maintenance and renewal of broken computers and new students rising through these grades.

Which grades would be getting these computers? Give them to the younger children you run the risk of having to buy them new laptops at least once a month! How often do they loose their homework already? Enough to worry about the maturity and responsibility to keep a laptop without having it stolen or broken after being dropped too many times. Obviously, we'd be talking about high-schools, right? Well, right there you have more possibilities of people stealing them, and the students' carelessness. High-school students do more things than younger children do, and they do not always go straight home to drop their bags off after class. There is a lot that needs to be looked into with these things. They cost money and it would not be the students, I can guarantee that. It would be everyone paying for these technological advances in school, and for the carelessness and irresponsibility of the students in them. And that's just a few aspects to look at.

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