Raheel Baig, a second-year ITM student, says the benefits of having laptop computers do not outweigh the costs. Arun Mekkunnel, a second-year ITM student, says students are not getting an opportunity to speak or be heard on this issue. We don't need it. Programming is theory-based and assignments can be done just as well on standard personal computers, he says. Mekkunnel is worried about the expense for something he sees as a luxury rather than a necessary learning tool.
Laptops are just laptops.
Although Wayne Au Yeung, ITM course union president, thinks it's a good idea for ITM students to use laptops, he doesn't like the cost. He says many students pay their tuition by working part-time, therefore the cost of the lease would affect their support for the initiative. ITM director Ken Grant hopes to have the mandatory program in place for next fall. He says laptops are neccessary for Ryerson s ITM school to produce the right kind of graduates. This is a fast-paced industry.