computers outside?

5th grade students across Pennsylvania took a standardized writing test this week.  

They answer 20 multiple choice questions and respond to 2 different writing prompts.  

Of course, someday in the near future, this test, and others, will be given on computers.  So, at the end of the writing test, there were some survey questions for the kids to answer.  They had to rate their computer skill level (according to some of my students, you don't need to know how to save files without help in order to have "excellent" computer skills) and answer some questions about how often these use computers.  

One question asked, "About how often do you use a computer outside of school?"  I saw a student filling in the "never" bubble and I, happy that I didn't have to refrain from making comments about what he was doing anymore, said, "What? Why did you say never?"  He looked at me with a totally sincere face and said, "No. I've never used a computer outside," with a tone in his voice that sounded like it was a really fun thing to do that he had never experienced.  

How about you?  Have you ever used a computer outside?  

I have actually.  But my student is right.  At school, we do not take the computers outside.  

As you can imagine, the rest of the assessment, the part where I could not say, "What?! Why are you writing that?!" about, went swimmingly.