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MIT laptop threatens kids’ arms and backs? If so, a fix could be easy
September 30, 2005 | 5:32 am
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By David Rothman
Ouch! Despite muscle relaxants and an ergonomic desk and chair, my left arm still hurts like hell. I’m going to paste in slightly tweaked passage from an email I wrote to Richard Bellaver at Ball State University, a well-regarded usabilty expert.
Here’s some research that I hope a usability maven will undertake with a qualified medical expert. Why not study the ergonomics of laptops vs. tablets, especially for K-12?
I love the idea of the $100 MIT laptop computer, but think that laptops suck ergnomically. The ideal eye-screen distance may be at odds with the keyboard-user distance for typing. At least two-three decades ago, people knew about the benefits of detachable keyboards. We need to preach and practice the old-time ergnomics religion. To me, the optimal hardware by far would be a tablet propped up by a height-adjustable stand, with a detachable keyboard in use. I hope that the MIT laptop will have an alternative to the built-in keyboard–and will work with a USB detachable keyboard.
Details: Yes, I’m aware that laptops can reduce the strain on kids’ backs from carrying books. But why replace one ergonomic evil with another? I’m a big booster of the MIT project. I just want to see it done right. For the curious, I myself have gotten into trouble even with a desktop. Rx: More breaks.
Note: I should add that apparently the MIT machine can function as a tablet. True? If so, the wire-stand approach could be just the ticket.
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Comments:
David, I learned back in the late 80s about what was considered the correct placement of keyboard, monitor and mouse, and I’ve tried hard to maintain my own workspace according to those principles: 1. if you were to look at the horizon, then look *slightly* down, that’s where the center of your monitor should be; 2. You should be sitting with your back straight in a comfortable position, your forearms roughly horizontal, with your keyboard at the height your hands would naturally fall at that position — you shouldn’t have to reach up, down, left or right; 3. you should avoid mousing if possible (keyboard shortcuts), but if you do, you should hold your mouse lightly, and not rest the weight of your hand on it, on the desk, or on any kind of pad. Same with your keyboard — you should only be resting your hands when they are at rest, i.e., not typing or mousing. Your hands should be able to swivel from the elbow. Some people mouse from a wrist or forearm that is resting on the table, which is very bad news.
My partner blew out her wrists from too much typing, and now uses voice software, a split keyboard for when she absolutely can’t get something to work using voice, and a cordless mouse.
I didn’t want to follow her lead, so I’ve purchased a lab jack, which is a piece of laboratory equipment used to prop up equipment during experiments, basically two plates separated by an adjustable scissor. Lab jacks can be pretty inexpensive and are usually made of either plastic or aluminum. You would need one that had a base large enough to hold your laptop, and one that was rated to handle the weight (this is usually not an issue, even with the plastic ones).
I got a fancy FisherBrand aluminum lab jack, which was about £100, probably cheaper in the US. There are usually educational discounts on these things too. I splurged and also got the new Logitech diNovo cordless keyboard and mouse, as the last two keyboards I had were terrible. So now I can jack my laptop up and down depending on my seating position, and can even drop it down to desk level, close my laptop, and slide it back under my desk’s shelf to get it out of the way. With the keyboard and mouse being cordless, there’s no wire issues. Works great. (David, if you email me I’ll send you two photos.)
Needless to say, I’ll be delighted to publish a photo to help emphasize the importance of good ergonomics, so please send ‘em on. Thanks, Murray! Meanwhile I’ve found a legit, $65 copy of the latest Naturally Speaking (without the manual or box or microphone). Is that what your partner uses? If not, what? Thanks. David
She uses Dragon Naturally Speaking 8, but the Professional version, which I believe works better and works with more software packages. You can see an overview at http://www.dragontalk.com/. One thing to note though, and that one really needs a computer with some horsepower, as this is one area (unlike email and word processing) where those GHz really make a difference. A slow computer won’t be able to keep up and will produce more errors, even crashes. She had a heck of a time with Word and Dragon open at the same time on her older computer, but bought a 3GHz model recently which made a huge difference. But her last was a 600MHz laptop, so I suppose there is plenty of middle ground.