to think that this is a joke

[Professor]

I heard on radio today that govt are going to allow kids to do their exams on computers because they don't know how to use pens.WTF!

Is this a joke or what?

Am so bloody angry at this I could scream.

But that's also a point, we don't have the money to give everyone a PC.

I wouldn't need 3 hours to word process a 3 hours written exam - I could do it in 1/2 the time and still come out with the same result (maybe even better as I could reorder stuff easier)

There must be a hell of a lot of paper thrown away each year after exams are marked........

Basic word processors are very cheap. Students don't need a PC

Just think one computer used to do 5 >>> different exams........instead of those booklets of writing paper they give you for each exam.

I know exam I did as an adult (which I got 78% in - which was pretty damn amazing given my personal circumstances at the time) I only used about half of the first booklet we were given to write in. It wasn't like they could then give that booklet to someone else to use the rest of the sheets of paper up.

those booklets are so wasteful...a word processor could be used more economically. Would also make marking easier

Isn't saying that cost is a problem a bit like saying the cost of better medicine on the NHS is a problem? It is, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't try to work out how to fund it. (Hope that example doesn't offend - not intended to and I do realize the differences in magnitude, but it's a good analogy I think).

Pens require far more fine motor control than typing. Inevitably, it's easier to type than handwrite.

This thread is hilarious I am rofling at students not being able to survive in the real world because they were allowed to type their exams

OP, do you know much about dyslexia/dyspraxia? Because the children who may be allowed to use PCs as part of their IEP are the ones who have these disorders or similar. I've been an educational proffesional for many years, and am yet to come across a child who 'doesn't know how to use a pen'. I have, however, come across a few who struggle to write clearly/quickly enough to have an equal chance at passing an exam. If a child has the potential to get an A in science, for example, why should they fail due to poor handwriting? I think you need to learn a little empathy, tbh. You sound like you have fallen out of the Daily Mail.