[Air-l] laptops and Internet access in class

[Dr. Steve Eskow]

<<My experience is that entering freshmen don't have the maturity or the
skills to effectively use the technology to support learning. And I don't
believe that those skills can initially be developed on new technology.>>
 
Suppose a classroom-centered coourse is  now built around the following
intellectual technologies:

--the lecture
--the book of readings
--class discussion of the "material": the lecture and the readings
--papers: written and submitted by students
--"quizzes"
--"the final examination"

Putting some or all of these activities online require minimal computer
skills on the part of the instructor and the students. "Class discussion,"
for example, can be successfully carried on by email, a skill most students
have. We have our "discussions" here in this way, and the technical skills
required are minimal.

Many thousands of secondary school students are now studying at home using
the computer in these ways.

And many thousands of students around the world are successfully studying
via distance learning.

Steve Eskow