Recently, something happened that got me thinking about CALL. We, the foreign teachers at the college where I work, received an email outlining the new rules for handouts printed by us for our students. It seems the leaders are appalled by the amount of paper being used. Apparently, it hasn't occurred to them that in three years they've gone from nine FTs to twenty-six with a rising student population necessitating the increase. Hmmmm, lots more paper - can't have that. Hmmmmmm, lots more money from student tuitions - guess that's not part of the equation. So, the new ruling is that paper costs, over and above a set amount, will be passed on to the students of whichever class/classes goes beyond that set amount.

From an environmental standpoint I can embrace the new rule, but from the standpoint of student advocacy I cannot. Teachers who are using exorbitant amounts of paper are perhaps being quite creative instead of wasteful, but I still would rather see them being forced to reconsider the use of paper from the standpoint of their own bank accounts rather than those of the students. Nevertheless, I think that had the administration simply requested that we take into consideration both the rising costs of paper, and the environment, they would have noticed immediate cooperation. But that would be too Western. Gotta have a rule. My guess is that it took a two hour meeting to come up with that one.

So, that's one thing to think about in terms of laptops. Less paper. Unfortunately, their are landfills all over the world filling up with computer parts that aren't so environmentally friendly.

More to the point, and with less digression, I have mixed feelings about the One Laptop per Child policy. I'm trying to look at this from the standpoint of being an English teacher in China. Young Chinese, like their counterparts elsewhere, have this huge fascination for computer games. Whereas it used to be a problem with young Chinese guys, it has worked its way into the female population as well. The question then becomes one of monitoring.

I first became involved with CALL in America about eight years ago. Immigrant populations seemed to benefit greatly by having the opportunity to use language software for a certain amount of time each week. I also taught a class on using MS Word to immigrants who had no prior experience with its use. That was a very successful class and quite popular with students who intended to go on to college after completing their second language studies. Students who were not computer savvy required a little more time and energy at the outset, but they usually picked right up on it. In some ways, those who were computer literate required closer monitoring so that they wouldn't stray from the task at hand.

Therein lies the problem. Computers open up such a big can of words that it becomes necessary to closely monitor there use by students. Moreover, teachers and CALL room supervisors need to be well trained. What limitations should there be? Should there be any limitations at all? Who sets the rules for there use? Are laptops going to become another substitute for kids getting off their behinds and doing necessary exercise - another adjunct to potato chips and coca cola? Will governments use the power of the computer to persuade and dissuade - to push their own agendas? A child's mind is quite malleable. Just how far do we want to immerse ourselves as a planetary population into the computer age?

Don't get me wrong. I love my computer and the educational and learning opportunities it provides me. I love that children in rural areas and third world countries are being given the opportunity to broaden their horizons and widen their hopes. But questions remain. The future that computers are giving us will be glaringly different than anything we might be able to anticipate. I don't know, maybe the world's just moving too fast for a country boy like me.