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

By Bob Johnstone

Book Overview

"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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595288421
• ISBN13: 9780595288427
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 364 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Must read for those interested in 1 to 1 laptop programs

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 BartelsEditor - www.learningwithlaptops.org

A Must Read For Today's Educators

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 MaganaWashington State Milken EducatorDeveloper of Washington's First CyberSchool