Yes, GIS, a truly wonderful tool--in the field. Unfortunately, the majority
of my classes are in a classroom, not at an archaeological site, or in my
lab. What I want to know is: how do students multitasking on their laptops
in my class actually benefit from bringing those required laptops TO THE
CLASS. Is ESRI going to lease a copy of ARCHVIEW to all laptop owners at
UTC, so we can all happily GIS together? I doubt it. That leaves me with a
digital podium, if I can get a classroom that has one.

The laptop backlash article is very sobering. I've yet to read anything in
comments posted so far that lists specific classroom benefits that outweigh
the very real drawbacks found in that article.

I'm not a Laptop Luddite--I've owned one for years and love it. I simply
want to see some evidence that this proposed universal requirement has
pedagogical value in a classroom setting.

Nick Honerkamp 

-----Original Message-----
From: UTC Staff E-Mail List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of C
Daniel Chase
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2005 11:44 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [UTCSTAFF] Laptop Backlash

Eric B. Wolf wrote:
...
> Seriously though, I would suspect that a higher level of comfort and 
> familiarity with technology would benefit students in all fields of 
> study. Laptops (or mobile devices) are especially helpful for Archaelogy 
> and Anthropology. One of the reasons computer technology doesn't seem to 
> apply to your field is that it's been too difficult to drag a computer 
> out their with you. Students coming into the university now have never 
> known a world without computers and the internet. These are natural 
> tools to them.
...

Eric! I can't believe *you* didn't mention the most obvious use (to me) 
of technology in Archeology & Anthropology fieldwork... GIS! Geographic 
Information Systems would be perfect for logging location of artifacts 
and integrating with other related data. Mapping, as well as other GIS 
driven data sources.

My turn to be GIS Evangelist I guess... :-)

-Dan

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