Technological Innovation and the Paradigm Shift In Management Education
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The Laptop Initiative at The Anderson School
Students at The Anderson School are required to own
and use laptop computers in a fully networked environment. This has transformed
what we teach, how we teach, and the educational experiences of our students.
The school has been especially fortunate in that the timing of the construction
of our new complex permitted the integration of technology-based design.
Every seat in every classroom (as well as every breakout room and library
reading room) is networked so that students can connect their laptops,
display their computer work to the entire class, and connect to the Internet
or other network services to access information. This new environment changes
the way we use classroom instructional time and opens new possibilities
for teacher/student interactions.
The linchpin in this new educational environment has been the requirement
that all students own a laptop computer, bring it with them to class, and
use it as an integral part of their educational experience, just as they
will use it as integral part of their professional lives. The portability
of the laptop enable us to deepen and enhance classroom interactions through
the instant display and discussion of individual work. Students are linked
together, both at school and away, in new kinds of interactions that strengthen
the effectiveness of teamwork. Further, students can integrate different
aspects of their unique educational experience, applying material from
one situation to another as the need arises. For example, the capability
to access information from the Internet and bring it into classroom discussions
emphasizes and strengthens skills in accessing and using information. The
new classroom networks allow us to stress the integration of analysis,
synthesis, and evaluation and to hold each student accountable for acquiring
those skills.
Our experience indicates that there are four distinct categories of
instructional computer usage:
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Faculty in-class use. Instructions may use a computer as a presentation
tool to support a lecture or to demonstrate specific concepts, models,
or ideas, or to access information for real-time data analysis and discussion.
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Students in-class use. Students may use their laptops in class to take
notes or exams, model data, run simulations, make presentations, or access
information.
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Faculty out-of-class use. Instructors may use laptops to communicate with
students on an individual or group basis-for example, to continue discussions
begun in class or to discuss assignments.
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Students out-of-class use. Students may use their laptops as a means of
supporting individual and group study assignments, accessing information,
sending and receiving E-mail and other communications, and organizing personal
data.
Implications of the Initiative
With their laptop computers, students have course notes and other materials
from each class with them at all times. They also have access at any time,
from anywhere, to school and external resources. E-mail, in particular,
has had a dramatic impact on learning and teaching at The Anderson School.
Faculty members can do regularly disseminate class assignments, collect
homework, and continue dialogues begun in class, independent of time and
location.
