Laptops in the classroom- Let's take charge

Abstract

Each semester brings a new group of students with everadvancing technology in tow. For many years, we could look out over our classes and at the most see one or two computers in use. Not today, it is almost the complete reverse; we may see one or two students without computers in use. Admittedly, many of us in nursing education today are the poster children for the graying of nursing education phenomenon (Hinshaw, 2001). In recent years, we have experienced a steep and rapid learning curve in integrating technology into our own lives and practices, let alone staying up with the rapidly changing and expanding nature of personal technologies we now see in our classrooms. How many of us still have a few old transparencies still in use or feel as though we are the end-all–be-all of technology if we have animation in our PowerPoint presentations? Finally, and this really is the biggest concern, how do we best use technology in our classrooms and still focus, facilitate, and foster a learning culture and environment? Many of today's college students have been using computers in the classroom since grade school. Gulek and Demirtas (2005) reported that 98% of our nation's schools have Internet access. In addition, a survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project (Rainie & Hitlin, 2005) found that roughly 21 million youth between the ages of 12 and 17—approximately 87% of the entire age bracket—use the Internet. Of those 21 million online teens, 78% (about 16 million students) say they use the Internet at school. The survey also found that most teens believe that the Internet helps them do better in school (86% of teens). Clearly, we are outnumbered, and we must rise to