Over the past few months, more and more kids at Kingswood-Oxford Middle School are bringing laptop computers to school. These students want to use them so that they can get their work done faster and better. This phenomenon is definitely changing the way students work in the classroom and in study halls. As helpful as laptops are for taking notes and creating presentations, they can also be a distraction to some students. Most students use them effectively, while others waste more time then they actually spend doing work on their laptops. Laptops are definitely affecting the way students at Kingswood-Oxford Middle School work now and will work in the future.
Word processing and Microsoft Office applications are some of the most commonly used programs at K-O Middle School. Most students will use Microsoft Word for taking class notes and typing documents such as history and English papers. Some teachers even require certain students to have laptop computers in class because they think that their handwriting is too sloppy for class notes and they want these students to be more organized so they are better prepared for tests. Some students also use Microsoft PowerPoint to make presentations for history classes. In addition, students use Microsoft Excel for labs and data charts, graphs, and tables for science classes.
Wireless Internet is also an issue in the Middle School because students need to do research on the Internet, but despite the many wireless networks that are available all around the Middle School, few of them work. A few of the wireless networks that work are the networks in the research center and the science rooms along with the upstairs math rooms. Students also need wireless Internet so that they can access their Firstclass email accounts. Without the availability of wireless networks, kids are sometimes tempted to unplug network cables on K-O’s desktops to connect to the Internet with their laptops. Internet problems and issues would be solved if the school had more working networks. Overall, kids use their laptops to save time and to work more efficiently so as to make the demands of their classes less strenuous.
Another important reason why students want laptops is the lack of the availability of desktops in study halls. Lately, study halls have been packed with students on computers in the research center and the jungle. With all the study halls that take place in those two classrooms and all the classes that need to come in to work on computers, there is almost no availability of desktops in the research center. If a student has a laptop, he or she won’t have to worry about the limited availability of computers, not getting their work done, and wasting their time during valuable study halls.
As much as laptops help students with their demanding classes and assist them in getting their work done, they can also be a distraction to students for various reasons. This can happen when a student with a laptop is tempted to play music or show a music video to a student next to him or her which distracts both students and disrupts their work. This usually happens when a student is bored during class. Students also have access to wireless Internet, which cannot be monitored, giving students opportunities to browse the Internet and access sites that are not school-related. Students also go on AIM and instant message each other during study halls. Many students listen to music when they are bored, and in some isolated cases, they will play games during class or study hall. Therefore, as helpful as laptops are, they can also be a distraction to some students and cause them to waste time and possibly distract other students.
Laptops keep increasing at K-O Middle School because of students’ demanding classes. They help students greatly with homework assignments and projects, but they also can distract students if they get bored or are tempted to use entertaining programs on their laptops. Students can now take better advantage of their free with their laptops and perform their assignments to the maximum extent as long as they don’t abuse the privilege.
~ Dimitri Adamidis