Now that I�m in graduate school, I�m discovering that it�s hard to make the claim that, on balance, all this fancy hardware is helping students learn better. Technology glitches frequently eat into class time: it�s not uncommon for a lecture to start late because the professor can�t get his laptop to work with the projector. One lecture I attended was delayed because the Internet connection was down, and the professor had neglected to save a copy of the course materials on his disk drive. Another class was interrupted when a pop-up ad appeared on the professor�s screen, hawking �genuine college diplomas� for $99.95. (Who says irony is dead?) And it isn�t just the science and engineering classes that are going high tech. Last fall, I took two classes at MIT�s computer science department and two other courses at Harvard University. For the computer courses, both professors lectured with chalk in front of a blackboard; it was at Harvard that the professors used PCs.

I�m not arguing that schools and universities have erred in their adoption of information technology. But institutions of higher learning need to do a better job evaluating the ways students and faculty use the technology.

Technology�s advance has not been kind to the Athena model. With so many students carrying laptops, the clusters of workstations that still dot the MIT campus are an answer to a problem that no longer exists. What�s needed instead are facilities where teams of three to five students can get together to work on projects. I�ve tried holding such confabs in an Athena cluster, and it�s brutal: just getting three adjacent terminals can be a challenge, and it�s almost impossible to have a discussion without annoying everybody else in the vicinity. In an encouraging development, MIT�s Hayden Library just opened a 24-hour study center with two small conference rooms that have chalkboards and wireless access (and glass walls for security). This 21st century study hall is probably a prototype of others to follow.

Perhaps the most important point is that educators and students must not let their knowledge of the technology stagnate. You can�t learn sophisticated software by osmosis�or even by repeated use. Even the kids who appear to acquire computer skills with effortless ease need formal instruction to master sophisticated applications. Graphics, presentations, and data management are the lifeblood of the information economy: universities, and even grade schools, need to teach their students how to use the advanced features of these applications. Groups of students working on the same document, for example, should know how to use revision control features. And faculty who have started down the path of computer-assisted pedagogy must be able to anticipate the inevitable glitches and mishaps. Professors should know, for example, to replicate Web sites on their laptops so they can survive a faulty Net connection in the lecture hall. The real lesson here is that buying computers and deploying networks are just the start of a much larger commitment.

Meanwhile, I�m wishing �Ms. Solitaire� good luck on that law school final exam: she�s going to need it.