Kate Gregory
Eighth-Grade Student, Harpeth Hall Elementary
I believe that laptops have been an important tool in my education. My laptop helps me with a variety of things; however, I would say that the effect it has had on my organizational skills has been the most significant. I am not by nature a neat person; my room has books and clothing and old papers dating back to 1994 strewn about it. However, with a laptop, all of my notes for each class are kept together, organized by chapter, subject, and date. Everything is in a folder, and I know where it all is. My Spanish vocabulary lists are in there, as well as my history notes, and my project on Rita Levi-Montalcini. Which brings me to another point: Laptops are ideal for projects and papers.
Recently, I had to write a paper on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet which incorporated literary criticism. I found some of the criticism I used on the Internet. When I found something that could prove useful in a book or on the Web, I typed it onto electronic notecards, a more efficient and convenient method than using the typical notecards. After I wrote a rough draft, I sent it as an attachment to a friend via school e-mail. She used a special editing feature on Microsoft Word. To see her comments, I held the arrow over highlighted passages, and a box with her views on that section appeared. I made corrections, had it spellchecked, printed it, turned it in, and received an A. Technology was involved in every single step, from the first notecard to the final draft.
I am proud that my school has chosen to use laptops. I know that I am learning valuable skills that will help me in whatever I decide to do. I try to put what I know to use outside of school by helping my family with computers. Even my grandmother has gotten in on it, playing bridge with friends in other countries online, and sending me long e-mails. So when asked if I enjoy working with a laptop at school, I answer with a resounding "yes."
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Reading Online, www.readingonline.org
Posted February 2002
© 2002 International Reading Association, Inc. ISSN 1096-1232