Emily Fisher
Eighth-Grade Student, Harpeth Hall School
One of the most amazing experiences I have had with my laptop was in science class near the beginning of my eighth-grade year. By simply plugging in a sensor to our laptop and inserting it into the liquid used in our lab, we were able to monitor the temperature. This idea left me awestruck; to be able to watch the change in temperature as it occurred without reading the thermometer every 10 seconds is something I had never imagined I could do. This lab really proved to me that with a laptop my classroom experience is open to even more possibilities.
With my laptop, I do not have to wait for a computer to become available in the crowded computer lab to print an urgent document; instead, I can simply sit in a classroom and print from there. The capability to connect to the Internet from a classroom allows all students to research different materials simultaneously, instead of some having to watch over another’s shoulder because the lab is full. I have the ability to take my assignments and projects wherever I need to, and, if for some reason I have to leave school, I am always connected to my teachers and classmates through e-mail. Although e-mail was available previously, it is much more convenient with my own laptop. I have become more organized with a laptop, which allows me to be more efficient with regard to my schoolwork. I seem to be always prepared for my next task.
With my laptop, both schoolwork and class seem much more exciting than they once were. Teachers seem to spice up their classes by varying assignments more than they were able to last year. Class was never as exciting as it is now!
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Reading Online, www.readingonline.org
Posted February 2002
© 2002 International Reading Association, Inc. ISSN 1096-1232