English Assignment 2
Friday, March 02, 2007

Should laptops replace textbooks?
By Sara Bernard

The age of the textbook may be bowing out — or it may not. New technologies can help facilitate learning in ways traditional textbooks simply can’t match. But we wouldn’t want to do away with books entirely, say some people, and the funds needed to replace textbooks with laptops will only sharpen the digital divide. We’re interested in your opinion.

My Reflections:

Whenever the strap of my schoolbag cuts into my shoulder, I cannot help but think of alternatives for textbooks. Technology naturally came to mind as it is the most convenient and accessible medium. Ah! Of course! Notebooks!

The idea of replacing textbooks is controversial.

Firstly, why notebooks? The reason is simple. It can store everything and the amount of data stored does not affect its weight. Also, it is much lighter to carry a notebook than a whole load of textbooks to school. More importantly, with all the date in the notebook, there would be no reason for students to forget to bring their work. Another advantage is the convenience of surfing the internet in class. Research work is thus made easy.

Having heard that Catholic High School has implemented this idea, I decided to find out more about the effects from my friend, Manfred Lum, who is a current student there. As much as there are advantages, Manfred disapproves of the implementation, because the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

Manfred's main concern revolved around the cost of a notebook. The standard notebook that the pupils are to purchase costs around $2400. With additional software and hardware, a student would have to spend around $2700 even with subsidy. Students whose families are less well-off have to buy a simpler version, which has much less features than the standard one. This has affected their studies when they are unable to access the online textbooks due to different configurations. Moreover, with wireless in place, students often surf the net, chat online or even play computer games during lessons, well hidden behind their laptops.

I feel that the more significant problem would be the unnecessary extra sources for inferiority complex among students, especially at an age where peer pressure is most influential. Unable to afford the standard notebook model, the lower economic status of certain students will be illuminated. Rather than those with better notebooks standing out from the crowd, in this case, those with notebooks that are not of the standard model are identified in a negative manner. In addition, there is a pit of skills in terms of being technologically-savvy. How well one is familiar with various software would render him more efficient and capable than others. Altogether, these create unwanted pressure on the students who are weaker in the aspects mentioned.

To conclude, I feel that the implementation of the notebook system might be effective at first glance but at a deeper level, there are certainly many more aspects to consider. It is obvious that many assumptions were made, such as the students being able to afford the notebooks, and having the self-restrain to not use chat lines nor play games during class. Having considered the consequences of this major implementation, this is definitely not a feasible idea given the diversity of a student population.

(474 words)

12:08 AM
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