I don't hate labs. Labs have their place, but classroom teachers belong in them, collaborating with computer teachers and librarians. On the secondary level, labs may be essential in delivering the art, business or science curricula. But teaching computer literacy may not be needed. Students will achieve that literacy by accomplishing real subject goals.
Parents fuss about keyboarding.
And I wonder why. I was a typewriting class dropout. Once I learned where to put my fingers, I was desperately bored. And the focus on mechanics crushed my motivation to write. By integrating computers into a writing class instead of a keyboarding class, students not only learn the mechanics, but also the process of keyboarding for a purpose.