PLN 22

Situated within the contents of the Littleton Public Schools blog, an article by the name of “Maine's 1:1 laptop raises writing performance” confronts a decisive issue concerning our generation. It is primarily focuses on the heightened levels of student achievement achieved as a result of the availability of laptop computers in classrooms. The author of the composition (Dan Maas) also bothers to point out the notion of these technological devices being able to also promote an instillation of greater achievement (as directed towards other fields of study) in students. To Dan, cyberspace is the most resourceful tool available and should be taken advantage of in every classroom.

Although this prospect of increasing writing abilities and possibly knowledge in other subjects and although I favor it, this usage of computers is corrupt. The concept Dan fails to grasp is the idea of mechanically induced not human assignments. The reality dictates a computer friendly, but almost too. It simply completes work independently. Its features such as the spell check, grammar check, and many more only depresses a student’s knowledge in that affiliated field. The computers are responsible for improving writing achievement, for they automatically fulfill an assignment’s legitimacy. As an example, I have already probably used the helpful yet harmful spell check over ten times now. Taking this into consideration, one may assume that computers are responsible for most of the formatting, grammar related corrections, and many more.

Although I have expressed repulsion towards the computer, it is oppositely helpful. It may lower understanding in the grammatical fields, but in reality it provides a user with the opportunity to elaborate on topics. Computers (when operated by true idolizers of them) prove to triumph over the more conservative pen and paper. Computer typing is in most circumstances, faster than brute writing. I offer the example concerning myself; in an English course, it is customary to encounter some form of writing at the closure of a unit. After the first “Odyssey” unit, the class was instructed to compose an essay concerning the literature. On this, we were permitted to utilize the powers of computers; of course, I finished well before I ultimately did in another subsequent hand written one concerning “Inherit the Wind”.

Both benefits and con oriented aspects are confronted when speaking on the topic of these machines. Although they decline knowledge pertaining to grammar and spelling, they also allow for lengthier and more thought out compositions. In the end, it truly boils down to personal preferences, whether it be length to be achieved or a drained understanding of grammatical and spelling skills.