Can students’ hands-on laptops in public school?

Manila Bulletin newspaper dated last March 2, 2011 page 2 by Ina Hernando-Malipot on her column “Laguna public schools get laptops”. When I read this one, I was happy for the fourteen public high schools in Laguna who received each new ten Toshiba Laptops with the partnership of the GILAS- Gearing Up Internet Literacy and Access for Students program. As it, aims to” promote students equalize access to information beyond the four corners of school and classrooms and equality education for learning in rural areas” as what DepEd Secretary Armin Luisito. This aim is good because the students in the rural areas can learn and have the same opportunity of learners in urban. As we all know, we are now in the 21^st century and there were many technologies in learning by which we got more information and knowledge. However, the question is can really the students’ use/hands-on the laptops in school? Are the students allowed to use laptops? Are the teachers taught the student is how to use correctly the laptops? Why laptops instead of computers? As what I observed and experienced when I was in High School when there were new computers received by our school, the principal and school head will get the half of the numbers of computers and put it on their office for personal use and the remaining computers are for students but not all the students are giving opportunity to use/hands-on the computers in the laboratory. Only the students who are intelligent have a privileged to use the computers and those slow learners who must need attention to access new more information sila pa yong hindi pwedeng maka-gamit ng mga computers. Although the school, school principal which has the ownership of the laptops will develop its own policies and guidelines in the usage of the laptops. As they will make a policy about the distribution and usage of the laptops, it should be equal to all students matalino ka man o hindi dahil lahat tayong mga estudyante ay may karapatang matuto kong paano gumamit ng laptops (computers). Na hindi sana nila ipag-maramot ang magamit ng mga estudyante ang mga laptops para sa kanilang pag-aaral. In addition, the teachers should train well how to use the laptops for effective teaching learning inside the classroom. To create educational opportunities by self-empowering learning and for the students they can learn on their own way of learning by getting engage to learn, share, create and collaborate with their own ideas. The used of the laptops in school must be in proper and appropriate for the lesson tackle by the teachers.