Laptops Transforming the First Year College Composition Classroom Experience
by Kerrie Carsey, Assistant Director, College Composition in 2007-2008

During the 2006-2007 academic year, 15 percent of first year College Composition courses on the Oxford campus were held in a new state-of-the-art, wireless laptop classroom (Bachelor 256).  Nearly 800 students brought their own laptops to class, such as those purchased through the Miami Notebook Program (www.muohio.edu/miaminotebook). 

Next year, when another classroom is converted into a wireless classroom (BAC 250), nearly 1,600 students will be enrolled in College Composition courses where writing is taught with the advantage of laptop computers, digital display technologies, and access to the Internet.

In a study conducted by the College Composition Program, 5 percent of the 400 students enrolled in the course were interviewed about their experiences in the laptop classroom. When asked if they would recommend to others that they enroll in writing classes offered in the laptop classroom, every person responded with some variation of “Yes,” “Absolutely,“ and “Definitely.” 

The presence of laptops and other technologies in first year composition courses impacted students’ learning in a number of ways.  One student commented, “We actually got to write on our computers in the classroom,” creating smoother transitions between writing activities completed in class and then continued for homework.  In other words, students did in class what they would normally have to do outside of class on their own, and instructors could assist students more fully throughout the writing process.  Using laptops in class also helped students find and critically evaluate online and library sources, important skills for writing in all academic fields.  Because students could begin their research in the classroom, they were able to collaborate more fully with their peers and to receive more feedback from their instructors while learning the necessary skills of finding credible sources and documenting them properly.

The laptops also allowed for more options in analyzing arguments; besides analyzing traditional print-based essays, students also analyzed web sites, computer games, advertisements, etc.   Thirty-inch plasma screens, file sharing, and class Wikis all provided ways for groups of students to receive immediate feedback on their work and to write collaboratively both inside and outside of the classroom.          

The use of these technologies also created opportunities for students to write in a wide variety of genres: those traditional in the academy, such as the research essay, and those that are becoming increasingly more common in business and professional writing, such as multimodal presentations that combine text, audio, and visual elements.  Audio essays and web composing helped students to explore the ways that sound, color, visual images, and design contribute to a writer’s argument.  Another student explained, “I really liked the way that we used different forms of digital media.  In our class one of our projects was creating a website—something I’d never done before, and something I always wanted to do.”  He added, “You need to put a lot more thought into your audience based on the form of media that you’re using.”

Technologies continue to change the ways we read, write, and understand our world.  The wireless laptop classrooms at Miami are an important step in preparing Miami students to think critically and write effectively in the twenty-first century. 

If you are interested in learning more about students’ experiences in the laptop classrooms or if you would like to know the schedule of courses for next year, please contact the College Composition office, composition@muohio.edu, 513-529-5221.