Laptops for Everyone

     A classroom in an inner-city school often contains students reading two to three levels below their actual grade to two to three levels above. Any teacher can attest to the difficulty of meeting the needs of all the students. In this type of situation personalizing instruction is an absolute necessity, but it is practically impossible for a teacher to do this without assistance.
     Laptop computers are clearly the best method for helping teachers meet the needs of a group of learners with very divergent skills. Obviously those who suffer the most are the students who are struggling to learn and the highest achievers who can conceivably sit through a whole day of school and learn very little new material. Frequently, it is assumed that the brightest students are OK  because there can learn independently. This simply is not true.  Students who spend years in school without ever having to put forth any effort can fail to develop the study skills and self-discipline that they need to be successful in high school and college. As for the other end of the spectrum, those students who are one and two years below grade level need intensive instruction to decrease the gap between their academic level and their grade level. Using technology to help personalize instruction is one way to address the difficulties of vastly different achievement levels in one classroom. 
     Some believe we can just give every student a laptop and the children can teach themselves (Give Them a Laptop), and others think that a laptop for every student is a waste of money. As with most educational issues, the answer lies someplace in the middle.  There are schools integrating technology use and laptops for students as early as third grade with teacher instruction with excellent results (Smart Technology).
     We do know that children can learn on their own. They were learning before ever starting school and they are learning constantly outside of school. But children do need instruction and guidance from adults. Laptops are in no way a replacement for teachers, however, they can be a valuable tool for helping teachers provide
personalized instruction for all students. Every student matters.