Contemporary innovations in education tend to be information based or computer driven. A complete curriculum, however, needs flexibility in order to foster skills for shifting from one context to another. Face-to-face skills play an important role in the governance of democratic societies, and "having a good understanding" of something involves the ability to communicate what is known. The dominant cognitive model of information (information and communications technology) should not weaken the human skills that belong to a full education. Computers need to be seen in a broad educational context. The iClass project and the No-Laptop policy described in this article show two different but related ways of acknowledging the limitations of the modern information paradigm. These two postmodern approaches share a critical distance from computers so as to customize information for specific learning situations. While engaging with computers, educators should weigh specific practices and ask how, and under what circumstances, computers actually contribute to a learning situation. (Contains 7 notes and 2 figures.)