Never Mind the Laptops: Kids, Computers, and the Transformation of Learning [Paperback]

Bob Johnstone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2003

What we all hope for our children's education is undiminished curiosity and creativeness, and solid practical preparation for adult work. Today, there's no doubt that easy access to computers is vital for students. Bob Johnstone has brilliantly and passionately told the story of the worldwide struggle to make today's equivalent of the pencil accessible to all students.-Victor K. McElheny, author of "Watson and DNA"If every kid had a laptop computer, what would difference would it make to their learning? And to their prospects? Today, these are questions that all parents, teachers, school administrators, and politicians must ask themselves.Bob Johnstone provides a definitive answer to the conundrum of computers in the classroom. His conclusion: we owe it to our kids to educate them in the medium of their time.In this book he tells the extraordinary story of the world's first laptop school. How daring educators at an independent girls' school in Melbourne, Australia, empowered their students by making laptops mandatory. And how they solved all the obstacles to laptop learning, including teacher training. Their example spread to thousands of other schools worldwide. Especially in America, where it inspired the largest educational technology initiative in US history-the State of Maine issuing laptops to every seventh-grader in its public school system.This lively, intriguing, anecdote-rich account is based on hundreds of interviews. In it, you'll meet the visionary leaders, inspirational principals, heroic teachers, and their endlessly-surprising students who showed what computers in the classroom are really for.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bob Johnstone has been writing about technology?s impact on society for 20 years. During that time Johnstone was a correspondent for many magazines, including New Scientist, Far Eastern Economic Review, and Wired. His first book, We Were Burning: Japanese Entrepreneurs and the Forging of the Electronic Age, was published in 1998.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (August 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595288421
• ISBN-13: 978-0595288427
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,898,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for those interested in 1 to 1 laptop programs, September 27, 2003

By 

Fred Bartels (Mamaroneck, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Never Mind the Laptops: Kids, Computers, and the Transformation of Learning (Paperback)

Bob Johnstone's Never Mind the Laptops is a wonderful new resource for the K-12 education community. All those concerned with using computers to enhance learning and teaching are likely to find this book both interesting and useful. I felt like I was reading a personal history of the ideas that have been at the forefront of my thinking about computers in education over the last twenty years. Johnstone tells many behind-the-scenes stories which help flesh out the picture of many significant events in educational computing. Two examples, Johnstone provides lots of good background information on Logo's development and on Microsoft's efforts to promote one-to-one computing.

Perhaps the most valuable part of the book is Johnstone's close examination of the Australian schools which pioneered one-to-one student laptop programs, especially Methodist Ladies' College. The story of these Melbourne schools has never been well told before and Johnstone gives their fascinating tale the time and effort it so richly deserves.

In relating the history of computers in education Johnstone never loses sight of the central goal of improving student learning. His is a book not so much about technology as it is about learning and the ideas and practices that have developed to apply increasingly powerful computer technology to make schools more humane and effective learning environments.

Fred Bartels
Editor - www.learningwithlaptops.org

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For Today's Educators, September 12, 2003

By 

Anthony (Snohomish, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Never Mind the Laptops: Kids, Computers, and the Transformation of Learning (Hardcover)

This is the tale of the transformation of learning with technology, rich with philosophical and pedagogical history, and the teachers who made it happen and continue to help students make things happen with technology. A must read for any educator seriously interested in using technology in a learning context, or responsible for realizing the elusive answer of how to maximize the benefits of technology integration in schools, districts and states.

Anthony Magana
Washington State Milken Educator
Developer of Washington's First CyberSchool