by Christopher Dean, Will Hochman, Carra Hood, and Robert McEachern

The song tells a story of betrayal. As I listen to it, I think about computers and learning, and I hear it as a soundtrack for wireless laptop classrooms. Maybe we're the grateful teachers who end up shooting Uncle Technology to ride off with the gold of better learning. Uncle's ghost won't ride with us until we are really grateful he's dead. But technology is not transparent or even ghostly in our classes--it's a constant presence for those of us who teach with computers.

I should know. This is the third university where I've developed computerized writing classrooms and have learned about writing in 21^st-century contexts alongside both teachers and students. I may be an old dog with old tricks, but to me it still seems like creating computerized writing classes is "The Wonder Years" [.mov link].

SCSU clearly values the magic box image of wireless laptops--it's a sexy image of a cutting edge classroom. This attitude can be clearly seen in the March, 2003 issue of Southern Life, SCSU's alumni magazine in an article titled "No Strings, WirelessTechnology Meets English 101." Regardless of the easy assumptions in the alumni magazine conflating technological sophistication with actual student learning, I believe carts of wireless laptops will be easier to implement than desk top labs while also enabling blue collar, state university students to perceive their education in more positive ways. SCSU is a state school and there are several nearby private universities (e.g., Yale, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart) where laptop learning is already ubiquitous. Our work with wireless technology is perceived as cutting edge at SCSU, and yet it is paradoxically also about catching up with academic neighbors.

Looking at computers as panaceas for improving education creates a magic box syndrome. I use this phrase to point out that the emperor has no clothes. Most educators know better than to believe that a technology will instantly change and improve teaching, yet we tend to believe that a technology, like writing, does change and improve learning. The magic of wireless laptops really does give our students confidence, and it helps them explore literacy resources in new ways. Although magic box syndrome is often viewed as a negative phrase--indicating naivete--it may also be understood as having the power to transform perceptions about ourselves and our learning. In this early age of computes and writing, we cannot deny that innovation is measured (in part) by how many computers we use. I think it's right to understand how computers increasingly occupy an important place in our learning lives, and I think it's academically crucial to acknowledge the importance of their quantity and access as basic elements of classroom learning.

Node Four of the Introduction