One to One

The video in class I felt was very eye opening. It gave a good view into the many different aspects of constant computer, internet, and technology use in a working educational setting. Personally, I was super excited and impressed to see technology being used in such a prominent and effective way. For someone such as myself, who is big on computers, it really reinforced the notion that there is so much to gain by the effective use of such technology. I think the key word is effective, and this is something that was touched on some in the video. In a small district, like in the video, they allowed students access to gaming programs and other social applications, messenger, ect..., during breaks and downtime. It didn't seem to be that big of a focus issue for the students and they had a good system down for when it was appropriate to use non-educational applications. In a larger district, say in Fairbanks, there would be a whole new set of related and compounded challenges. Effective use would ideally be using the laptops/technology as seamlessly as possible within the current curriculum, with room to grow and expand upon new options brought forth by the laptops.

I drool over the prospect of having a future classroom where every one of my students has an internet ready laptop in front of them. In a world that is ever changing and ever advancing, I think it is essential for their success to become familiar with the internet, laptops, and other such technologies, as soon as possible. What better environment to do this than school, in a classroom? Technology can be great, but we must also realize that it can be no substitute for human interaction and traditional classrooms. People must be prepared for the future, and the one to one laptop program can be used as a keystone portion of that. We just need to keep in mind that we are biological human animals and these are our offspring.
Question: How far should we take technology...?