Missing the point. (Letters).

I RECENTLY READ THE ARTICLE "ARE Desktops Dead?" (April 2003, p. 30). I think it misses the point with the choice between laptops and desktops. It never discussed the impact that instructional model and assessment model has on the integration of both desktops and laptops.

Time and time again, we have read reports that demonstrate the impact of activity-based student learning on student performance. We know that students who learn a skill in lab training retain less than students who learn and apply a skill in an instructional task. This "begs the question" why anyone would buy fixed desktop units.

Traditional instructional models and traditional assessments limit the implementation of laptops, handhelds and PC tablets.

--Joseph Reilly 

Director of Technology

Corniog-Painted Post (N. Y.)

School District