One aspect of the technology revolution that separates schools from everyone else is that educators don't just have to learn how to use a new technology, they must learn how to use a new technology to teach, and this distinction makes the introduction of new technologies into K-12 education far more difficult than into a business or office. Changing instructional strategies, and doing so in a way that does not compromise the quality of instruction in the interim, greatly compounds the magnitude of the problem that non-technical teachers must face whenever new technologies arrive in their classrooms. As a result, many educators are much more confident, content and capable of staying with the tried and true, rather than venturing off into the unknown driven by a vendor's vision. The introduction of a wireless laptop for every student is hardly a subtle course correction, and with this change immediately comes a stark realization that we haven't just changed course but, in some regards, we've changed ships as well. Standing today in front a of a classroom full of laptop-equipped students, who yesterday were lucky to have two computers in the back of the classroom, is a brave new world for any teacher, and the future for this teacher and those students will be dramatically different from their past.
Students often work best in small groups.
Laptops require batteries, and batteries require charging. Laptops fit in book bags, and book bags get lost, trampled and forgotten. A student moves away without notification until a request for a transcript arrives 30 days after the fact. Will the laptop be as durable as advertised, for it truly will be used as second base, a seat cushion, a door stop and a fly swatter on a daily basis. Downsides are common to almost anything that is new and different, and those above are just among the most obvious.