laptop+initiative


 * Laptops in Schools**
 * Overview:** In the 1990’s, Governor Angus King proposed a plan that would make the computer student ratio 3 to 1. He was advised by an [|MLTI] tech “guru” that this would do nothing, and that the real key to changing the way kids worked in schools was to make the ratio 1 to 1. Not long after in 2001, King announced his plan to put an ibook laptop in the hands of every seventh and eighth grader in Maine schools. In 2002 Governor Jon Baldacci made it his goal to see through the plan that King envisioned. In 2002 the state signed a 37 million dollar [|contract], giving over 30,000 students and teachers their own laptops, but now it’s time to see if it really paid off. At the time, there was much controversy surrounding the issue, but now it seems like the issue has fallen off the face of the earth. In intro to secondary education 101, we are asked to bring in our laptops on a daily basis. In the near future, will students be using their computers in all of their courses?


 * What we believed before:** Before the Maine laptop initiative got underway, many were skeptical. Some thought that the potential for the abuse of technology in classrooms would make learning more of a hassle than it was before. Would these newfangled contraptions be too complicated for a middleschooler to deal with? Would some students struggle to keep up in class, simply because they weren't able to type as efficiently as others? Could a child be held responsible for such an expensive thing? Could giving a laptop to ever sixth and seventh grader really fix the problem? Would the children play games or surf the web in class [|instead] of paying attention? Finally, will these laptops carry into high school? It’s only fitting that they would, considering it is a time where grades matter the most and school work becomes more challenging.


 * What we believe now:** We now know that although laptops do cause some problems, their technological advances are good for Maine kids. With laptops, children inevitably learn to type on some level, most do so with proficiency. Students have been taught the value of responsibility, as they are accountable every day for their laptop's safety. When one thinks of technology, their thoughts don’t immediately stream “Maine!” but through this program, the middleschoolers equipped with laptops will go on to high school as freshman, as some of the most tech savvy kids in the nation. What’s more, children report that the program is much more fun, and that they feel it is helping them as a class. “We still do the same things. We just do it differently.—they’re looking for ways to make it more interesting. I think it’s a lot more fun” said one student at Freeport middle school. (Source: Link 2) The laptops are very restricted, as is to be expected. Students cannot run or install games. Downloads from the internet are forbidden, and as always, the laptops are hooked up through a program that helps control what they can view on the internet.


 * How we sometimes believe the old belief:** We now know that laptops have not completely solved the problem, but were we really aiming for that? Education will always be a struggle, but these computers have certainly made things easier. Some children still have a difficulty in typing, as to be expected. In many schools students are not aloud to take their laptops home without special permission. When the plan was proposed in 2002 students were aloud to take their laptops home, to help continue their education outside the classroom.


 * Sources:**

http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php?title=Laptops_in_Schools&printable=yes

http://news.mainetoday.com/indepth/laptops/030609laptops.shtml

http://www.mcmel.org/MLLS/mlti/Learning_with_Laptops_sum05.pdf

http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,49046,00.html