THE
GREAT MAINE LAPTOP EXPERIMENT
Chris
Toy, Principal
Freeport (ME) Middle School
Maine is undertaking a bold experiment. The goal: Put Apple iBooks in the hands of every middle schooler across the state. In September, the first wave of 17,000 laptops were distributed to 7th-graders at 239 schools, including Freeport Middle School, where MiddleWeb diarist Chris Toy is principal. A strong proponent of Maine's Learning Technology Initiative, Chris will chronicle the laptop adventure for us.
Laptop
Diary #17
Talking to the Politicians
Sometimes things just work out. The past couple weeks have been pretty busy with the legislative debate over whether to cut money out of the laptop program. The students did a great job of letting the politicians know how much of a difference the program has made in their learning.
What has been even more interesting are some of the letters the adults have written after I asked for support from the parents on our parent e-mail list. Below is a letter that reflects so many of the reasons we implemented the MLTI in the first place. It's great when what we hope people will see actually gets noticed!
At the risk of branding our household as techno-weenies, I have 25 years experience as a software engineer and own a software development firm based in Falmouth. My wife has 16 years experience in computer technology education, and has worked in a myriad of fields implementing technology and training adults on how to use it. Despite our background, we are NEVER in favor of technology for technology's sake — it needs to serve a purpose or go away. A couple of comments from our long-perspective in the technology field: The laptop initiative serves a number of important goals, many of them potentially unintended: a. It provides equal access to ALL students to technology and information, regardless of their income. There have been dozens of studies done that link the lack of this access to a perpetual poverty cycle. If you want any further information on this email Charly at the address below. Many students in Maine (and Freeport) still cannot afford up-to-date computers and Internet access. Even if everyone does have a computer at home, the program, as Chris pointed out in an earlier email, is intended to provide another tool to be used in the classroom. b. Given the amount of private funding that has been raised for the program it provides us with the ability to explore the feasibility of alternative funding sources for our educational programs. This type of exploration is sorely needed. c. As an employer of high-tech resources, I cannot stress enough the need to develop the future talent pool for Maine businesses, who will become increasingly reliant on an ever-shrinking group of technologically-savvy employees. To judge the laptop program on the anecdotes of "teachers don't know how to use the laptops, kids are playing games, and we can't afford it" is to do a disservice to this fledgling program. MOST people don't know how to use computers as well as they should (ask Charly) but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be implemented (how many of us know how to program our VCR?). Learning tools are no longer linear, so once you take a 3D tool like a PC and let people have at it, there's no telling what they'll figure out. In our experience teachers are also good learners, so we suspect they can figure it out pretty quickly. As for the funding, I don't see how we can't figure out how to afford it.As for games, I have a handful of incredibly talented programmers who work for me. Lunch hour is game time, and frankly it makes them much better programmers.
And here's a note from one of my 6th grade teachers who happens to have a 7th grade daughter.
Dear Sirs / Madams: I am writing to you as a parent of a middle schooler, and as a person who has just recently made the transition from professional business management to teaching in the Freeport Middle School. When I first heard of the plan to buy thousands of laptops and distribute them across the state to middle schoolers, I was very skeptical. I thought that middle school students were too young and irresponsible and that a large percentage of these machines would be either trashed or lost in the first six months. Also, being a financial conservative, I was somewhat hesitant to spend millions of dollars on what I saw as an experiment. What I have seen at home and in school over the past six months has changed my mind. I have seen these normally irresponsible 12-14 year old students, protecting and safeguarding these machines like nothing else that they have been given or loaned. Students that already had family computers at home enjoyed the luxury of having a "personal" device. However, the biggest benefit was for the "have-nots". Many students did not have a computer at home (or at least not an up-to-date one). This program made the educational playing field more level for them. Every student now has the same tool. On a personal level, I have always had a nice up-to-date computer at home. My 9 year-old son has always loved to work on it. However, my 12 year-old daughter never took an interest in it. She got her loaner in September and she is now technologically proficient in most all of the software available to her. She has assignments regularly that have her surfing the Web for information. She absolutely loves it!! I would have never believed it prior to this program being implemented. I understand fully that the State is in dire financial condition and that money is very short. However, given the infrastructure (wireless networks, hardware, software, training) that is now in place, the thought of not following through on this program should be unthinkable. We need to see it through to fruition. We have come to far to stop now. This program has Maine in the spotlight nationally and internationally for being a leader in education. Let's not fall short for our students because of short term financial considerations. The economy will cycle back and the State's red ink will change to black once again. Let's not shortchange today's students just because they happen to be in middle school during a temporary economic downturn. Thank you for your time and patience and thank you most of all for serving the great State of Maine.
Let's hope
their voices are heard!
