I just read this week's Volante. I was totally surprised (though I probably shouldn't be) that the Board of Regents is STILL seeking to force all students to buy a laptop.

Now, let me be very clear on this. I am in full support of having wireless access available in every corner of campus, but I do NOT believe that students should be issued computers (laptops, PDAs, whatever), and I do NOT believe that instructors should be forced to deliver their course through any particular media. The Mobile Computing Initiative (MCI), part of the 2010 initiative, is half-right: it seeks to provide the wireless access but it also seeks to "design the deliver of instruction to include the use of mobile computing devices." Thankfully, it leaves alone the idea of issuing laptops to students. In fact, that brief is the source of the following figure. Eighty to ninety percent of South Dakota students already bring a computer to school. Increasingly, they are bringing laptops.

So when I said today that, for that alone, the idea of issuing laptops is a dumb one, I was actually asked "What about the other 10 percent?" My answer: I can't speak for all of South Dakota's institutions, we at USD have plenty of free access. The Link Lab has amazing hours for all students. Computer Science has its lab in McKusick, and even though its hours aren't quite as good as Link Lab, I think that 8:00 a.m. to Midnight is about all the time I need. The B-School has a lab, the residence halls have labs, and the Neuharth Center has a Mac lab. There is plenty of access on this campus. The MCI brief is the first to admit that laptops themselves don't help--it's access to the information. And we have plenty of access for students who do not wish to buy a computer, laptop or otherwise. Problem solved.

So why oh why is there a committee called "The Ubiquitous Mobile Computing Requirement Committee"? Remember, now, Ubiquitous Mobile Computing translates to Laptops/PDAs/iPhones, everywhere. Since iPhones don't work here and PDAs were already a bust years ago, the name of this committee really is "Force Laptops on Everyone Committee" or to be more accurate "Force Laptops on All Students Committee."

So why does this committee exist? Why are they still pursuing the idea? Why are they asking the state of South Dakota to cough up $5.5 Million up front and almost half a million each year after? No idea. But I'll tell you this: if they're going to lease to and then force students to buy laptops at twice or more of their actual worth, how much do you think maintaining the project really costs? And how much do you think that laptop is going to be worth when the student actually owns it, four years later? I'll tell you: A hell of a lot more than $5.5 Million, and NOTHING.

There are a lot of other reasons that this is a bad idea, but seriously, if you aren't convinced by this, you have a problem. It costs too much, and it intends to screw around with my professor's syllabus. No misguided attempt at improving our education should screw around with my professor's syllabus. My professor the expert, in a department full of experts. The Board of Regents can't even tell between a device and the information it allows you to access. Who do YOU want delivering the lecture?