At What Class Level Should Laptops Be Allowed in Schools?

by SodaHead Living Posted 2012/07/27 21:03:56

Related Topics: Laptops, Technology, School, Back To School, Teachers, students

1,954 votes
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	Elementary School	385 votes	20%
	Middle School	515 votes	26%
	High School	606 votes	31%
	College	321 votes	16%
	Never!	127 votes	6%

Is it just us or did summer swing by faster than usual this time around? With August just around the corner, "Back to School" is the thing on everyone's mind. Well, if you're a student, parent or teacher at least.

It's almost time to swap bathing suits for books. And while you don't have to complete any tests or do any homework quite yet, we think now's the optimal time to get your mind juices flowing with our quick, 8-Question "Back to School" Survey. Don't worry: No matter the answer, we'll give you an "A+" anyway.

+13

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Goducks5 2012/07/28 03:57:26 (edited)

Elementary School

+7
I have used them in school since elementary. It will also help kids type fast because I took some typing classes and I type 73 wpm. I think if you start learning something at a young age, it's easier then learning it when you are older. They were always only for school use but the only problem is the tax payers are the one paying for them and they have Macs instead of Dells, Macs are more expensive. My school distinct is a good distinct for the most part but they spend too much money. They also have computer labs for school use only so I mainly used the computers in the computer lab instead of the laptops. Oregon is pretty liberal though.
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More polls by SodaHead Living

samira 2012/07/31 06:28:09

High School

high school because they are more mature
they are young adults

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marty 2012/07/31 06:15:57

Middle School

Of course it depends on the mentality and maturity level of the child. Seeing our kids lag behind in the world is an embarrassment.

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rachel 2012/07/31 04:47:52
Kuruptsoul 2012/07/31 04:44:46

Elementary School

Never too young to use a computer...

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Resp 2012/07/31 04:05:15

Elementary School

They should be introduced immediately. Printed materials are becoming obsolete. The technology is the future. Time to adapt and reform.

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irving escamilla 2012/07/31 03:49:28

Middle School

In middle and high school laptops seem to be more usefull can bee used more

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Kyra 2012/07/31 03:18:51

Elementary School

+1
In 1986 when I was in the first grade when we got a computer....the Oregon trail game was my favorite at 6 years old, and now.

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Redneck 2012/07/31 02:47:47

Middle School

but only for classroom use, such as intro to micro comp class

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Asia Whitmore 2012/07/31 02:41:24

College

+1
Or never. I would love a good ol' pen n' paper essay instead of "Roman font, double spaced, half margin blah blah blah" crap.

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DarkChild 2012/07/31 02:28:32

College

+1
College

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Rhi-ot. 2012/07/31 01:59:48

College

+1
As much as I hated the waste of paper I end up having after every year of high school, high school students are definitely going to get distracted.

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Torchy 2012/07/31 01:30:46

College

+3
As a member of the generation that pretty much started out bringing portable electronics to class, I'm thankful that my pre-college education didn't allow for that. I had computer labs and classes so we knew how to use them and type and whatnot, but there's a wealth of knowledge in books and doing things OFF a computer that is starting to be ignored by the younger generation and it's showing. One needs computers, but I don't know what an elementary school kid is doing that requires it. Formatting essays in MLA? I get why one would need one in high school -- but it should not be the primary tool. Allowing that is why kids know what ROTFLMAO and MILF means, but not OPEC.

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wildcat 2012/07/31 01:21:35

Elementary School

the sooner the better

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Jana~ una chica loca 2012/07/31 01:00:42

Never!

as much as I LOVE not paying attention in class I think this would just be useless... there are countries that barely have school equipment and here are big and powerful countries putting so much technology into something that only requires a brain, pencil and paper!
why would you need a laptop in school anyway?

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♥SocialOutcastshavemorefun♥ 2012/07/31 00:49:42

High School

We get laptops at my high school. It really helps, especially with assignments like essays.

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Papillon 2012/07/31 00:21:24

Elementary School

At whatever age they start to use the damn thing. Why is everything such a bone of contention these days? I think I'm getting whiplash from shaking my head in wonder.

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Joanna the Great 2012/07/31 00:04:49

College

+1
What the hell do you need a laptop for before you move out for college? type papers and do research on the family computer, and don't pretend you have sooo many to do. I was in high school not that long ago and i wrote maybe two or three papers a year, tops. in college i wrote papers and did research constantly, and had computer class projects, and needed to print out coupons cause i was poor as hell.

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bansheebanski 2012/07/31 00:04:23
Wulfdane 2012/07/30 20:55:34 (edited)

Middle School

+1
Middle School should begin the introduction of computers and only in conjunction with their standard education. Students should enter high school with a basic understanding of how computers work.

Internet access and more advance uses should not begin until high school

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raraXOX 2012/07/30 20:20:58

Middle School

+1
I'm not sure I got the right age group with the American school types, but it's really unavoidable to be around computers now, and I think that early lessons at primary school really helped me get a basic grasp before needing a computer for research later. However, I don't think it's a good idea too early, as young kids could have better educational activities when they're little than using a computer.

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Papillon to raraXOX 2012/07/31 00:23:56

Not to mention outdoor activities!

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raraXOX to Papillon 2012/07/31 16:53:01

yeah definitely :) kids shouldn't just learn in some virtual world:)

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Papillon to raraXOX 2012/08/03 01:18:47

Some day their limbs will all wither and drop off!

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Arse-Whole 2012/07/30 18:53:44

High School

When they become correspondence to a course's curriculum. And only in that particular class. My 4 year old is getting an iPad as a new-to-school gift simply for the educational apps.

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Papillon to Arse-Whole 2012/07/31 00:24:36

We'll see how long that lasts.

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Arse-Whole to Papillon 2012/08/01 01:30:46

How long what lasts? She's on my iPhone learning her numbers and letters every day. The iPad can also be taken away for disciplinary measures. It's kind of a win/win.

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Papillon to Arse-Whole 2012/08/03 01:21:49

How long the barney or whatever they're doing now is on nickolodeon. Get 'em started and there's no going back or controlling progress.

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Arse-Whole to Papillon 2012/08/03 02:38:44

I guess I still don't really see your point. Nickelodeon? We don't do much tv. But I had a gameboy when I was a kid and turned out fine playing tetris and Mario bros. Hers will be spelling and math and wildlife apps. When I make the 6 hour drive to my brothers house is it better to play educational games or watch Shrek 3 times?

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lolitalovely 2012/07/30 18:00:53

Elementary School

I prefer laptops, but tablets can work in some capacity too. This is why I like technology in the classroom:

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rcardon 2012/07/30 17:46:37

Elementary School

I am one for teaching kids how to properly use these electronic devices that are all around them. I mean, really, they use them at home already, so why not make things easier for them, by eliminating paper, in some subjects, and allowing them to use laptops. I would say the laptops should stay at the school, not to be taken home, but I see no reason to not let them use laptops in class.

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leslie 2012/07/30 17:17:29

Never!

+4
I firmly believe that kids need to get off of the computer and learn the way we did back in the 60's,70's and, 80's.Most kids have terrible penmanship, they don't even know what an encyclopedia is, and they only know how to research what is on the internet. There is so much more to be gained from learning through books, and talking to people than there is from the one stop shopping to get all of your information needs in one easy place, like we do today.

Plus I truly believe that if children were forced to learn how to read and comprehend the written word like we were taught, It might just correct this atrocious grammar that we hear every single day, and that many young folks today, translate into their written word on the internet.

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ray to leslie 2012/07/30 23:19:21

+1
Extra raves here . You are so right .

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Bryan Q... to leslie 2012/07/31 00:04:05

+1
Great point! Kids don't go to the library enough these days [e-readers? please!]. When I went to school, you do book reports and research papers by getting your materials from real encyclopedias and other real sources, NOT Google, and certainly NOT Wikipedia. Sure you can search for everything on the internet, but are those really correct and accurate information? A real encyclopedia will give you unbiased information, whereas Wikipedia is edited by contributors and admins most of the time will delete valuable input and put garbage there! So much for an online encyclopedia where everyone can edit. I believe that it's good that people can edit it, but admins must make sure it's correct and unbiased, and must get other admins to correct or go over it, NOT bickering and arguing that they are solely correct and other contributors are wrong! Or deleting everyone's input and putting their incorrect and biased crap back onto the page like it was never edited before! Google is incorrect most of the time, especially translations from Google Translator. Every time I go there, if I ever go there at all, there will be bound to be mistakes from English to Chinese to Russian, etc... and vice versa.

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bpf 2012/07/30 16:14:22 (edited)

College

+1
Kids have to learn how to use the old brain pan and not rely on some machine to do their creative thinking for them. Think of what the great minds of the past used...nothing..Eisenstein though of his greatest theory in his mind on a train no PC was necessary and proved his theory on paper not using a super computer which was used to show that he was correct. Imagination is what sets the mind free to think outside the box, when you replace it with a PC the mind gets lazy and creative thought is gone.
The only thing we used when I was in school was an Abacus....everything else you had to write out and show every step and how you arrived at that conclusion.

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Beat Magnum True Hero 2012/07/30 13:26:30 (edited)

Elementary School

Today's first grader will use a laptop, tablet, or smartphone for every class in college and for any job in the workplace (even blue collar ones). Time to prepare them now. I was an elementary school student in the 1980s and they were already teaching us how to keyboard and use computers. Some people are afraid of new methods, but just because you did it a different way when you were that age doesn't mean it was better. They also used to whack left-handed kids on the knuckles with rulers...

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artistheweapon 2012/07/30 08:05:50

High School

at least. but mine still requires encyclopedia citations in a lot of our reports, so laptops are out of the question

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Beat Ma... to artisth... 2012/07/30 13:27:56

Required encyclopedia citations? Yet more evidence that public schools are failing. Encyclopedias are really pretty, have nice photos, and look nice on a shelf but they are expensive (a whole set could buy at least ten mid-priced laptops) and are out of date before the ink dries.

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artisth... to Beat Ma... 2012/08/01 08:22:52

I never said they were any where near up to date encyclopedias. And yet they just renovated the football field so now its nice and fancy -.-

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shadow76 2012/07/30 06:33:02

High School

+1
Then I would limit them.

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LucidLoon 2012/07/30 01:54:39

High School

Shoot, I meant to click middle school.

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