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Maine Laptop Program a Success
Myoglobinologist writes "The New York Times has an article about how the State of Maine purchased $37 million worth of iBooks from Apple. The article states that the kids have adapted quickly to the laptops, attendance is up, and there is even heart-warming testimony from some politicians that were opposed to the project." We've done several previous stories about this initiative (they were originally considering custom-designed thin client machines - probably a good idea to go with off-the-shelf systems), and it's interesting to see how it has panned out.
Actually, this has been discussed here long ago, but iBooks have a really good bang-for-the-buck ratio...
Trolling using another account since 2005.
What happens come upgrade time? While there was a surplus when the program started, most states now have a deficit. Some of the schools in my state have resorted to turning off all hall lights to save money. Granted, Maine is better off than S.C., but the money has to come from somewhere.
I just love the new and inventive was that the govnernment figures out to give away gifts (or exchange them for votes) with our tax dollars!
... always followed by a dictatorship."
I don't care how "successful" it is, it's nothing more than stealing when they take one person's money to buy gifts for others.
If my kids were ever eligible for such a program (they wouldn't be... they are homeschooled), I would refuse to take it. Beware governments bearing gifts.
dochood
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy collapses over loose fiscal policy
de Tocqueville
Does anyone think that if you had $37 *million dollars* to spend on education, then there might be better things to spend it on than ibooks? Like some more teachers, perhaps? Or a library? Each ibook is going to have a finite life and a cost of ownership so they'll have to keep spending money hand over fist just to keep them running. Kids have learnt just fine without a laptop in the past: just because we *can* educate with a PC doesn't necessarily mean we *should*. Ric
OK attendance is up - at least until they have to give the machines back at the end of the year.
But really shouldn't the money have been spent on basic infrastructure like paper books, new ceilings and full time staff ?
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. --Albert Einstein
and kids are more excited, it does not necessarily mean that they are learning any more than they were before. Wouldn't the money be better spent if Maine used it to attract more/better teachers with higher salaries?
Here's an idea... Keep the laptop program, as it seems to be improving the system, and start funneling money away from some of the sports programs for a change. Three years' worth of my junior high and high school experience was hobbled by austerity budgets. Art students were forced to buy all of their own materials, books had to be shared, busing was cut back, and the music program was forced to fund itself. In the meantime, the sports programs, who were not exactly cranking out championship teams, flourished. They got new equipment, more trainers, upgraded facilities, and even a new team bus. At some point, we need to get that spending ratio back in balance. Kids are there to learn. Though I think sports are important for a well rounded development, I think the emphasis on and rewards for them are too great. The current state of education marginalizes anyone who doesn't want to be "Like Mike". The laptop program in Maine is an excellent way to level the playing field and raise the bar at the same time, if I may mix my metaphors and sling a few puns... I will now climb down off of my stump and allow the flaming and trolling over the fact that they were Macs to begin... LLLLLLET'S GET READY TO RRRRRRUMBLLLLLLLE!
Someday a real rain is gonna come...
It's a computer. This plan has them using computers at school, and many of them will use one at work.
What's the problem there?
Teach them the abilities to adapt to conditions that aren't always identical and you have them all the stronger for the real world.
While you're at it flooding a school with kids who only know MS software, best make sure they only eat at McDonalds, only watch the most popular television shows, read the most popular books and only wear the most common clothes. After all, what's the chance they'll grow up choosing what they wish to do.
You know, the tools that you provide do not really matter until you reach a certain maturity when you view them as just that - tools. And middle or highschool is hardly the time when you'd view them so.
The idea that giving a bunch of laptops or palm PDAs or whatever sounds more like a political move than anything that would truly help an educational system.
Kids during middle and high school should be taught to work with pen, paper, their heads and their hands. Solving and analyzing puzzles and problems on paper. Thinking up innovative methods. Building stuff. Get them a million Rubik's cubes, Chess sets, puzzle books and yes, even Lego Mindstorm kits.
I have said this before and I'll still say this - by giving a computer at a very early age, you are curtailing their abilities to think all by themselves. Take something like graphics programming - the best ones that I know still do everything in their head and solve it on paper, before they sit and start coding. And in the process, they learn and discover new stuff. By giving them access to computers at this early age, you're not letting them do that! Its far too easy to sit down and use ready made tools.
Like the parent said, get good teachers! Get them good books, teach them to build things, to take part in science fairs and apply what they learn. On a board or on paper dammit.
While the chances of getting a job working on a Mac are slimmer than those of working with Windows, I have noticed something: My experience has been that people who learned on Macs tend to function well on both systems, while the people I know who started in Windows can only work efficiently in Windows. Market share is not the only guage of how useful something is. There was a point in history where the vast majority of humans thought the Earth was flat. Since both OSs have many of the same features, it shouldn't be hard to discuss them simultaneously. Since the GUI desktop metaphor hasn't really changed too much in 20 years, if you teach the metaphor, kids can be functional on any system.How does the saying go? Teach someone how to use taskbar shortcuts and you'll feed them for a day... Teach someone to navigate directories, and you'll feed them for a lifetime.
Someday a real rain is gonna come...
The problem with technology in education is that the technology often duplicates what is already being taught with textbooks (and taught pretty well).
If the laptops could displace the purchase of expensive textbooks, it might put a dent in the $37m price tag
The private sector spends on technology to increase productivity and decrease costs.
put windows into the factory and morale goes up, production goes up. treat people nicely, and they'll feel good about themselves. nice to see the old tried and true is still being shown today.
you obviousally dont work in today's corperate environment..
Review time, nothing but praise, how the company couldn't do what it did without me, bla bla bla,,, yadda yadda... Yet after all the Outstanding marks and recieving 2 outstanding achievement awards this year.. I still come out to "average" because of the weighting and the requirement to "NOT GIVE ANY MORE THAN 3% RAISE" unless the manager is willing to stand up for you.
Duties tripled, in areas that are NOT part of my job (same as others here too, I know tighten the belts)
and the looming layoffs that are a part of the merger life. Many of us pack up everything we own and carry it to our cars thursday nights as friday mornings are when the axe is falling.
Yeah, morale is high. and they treat us quite fair.. "don't have the regular peope do that, make IT do it as they are salary and we dont have to pay them overtime.... Hey, are you doing anything saturday? can you come in to move furniture?"
sorry, it's not as rosy as you think.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
sadly that is all they care about. is there a body in the seat? did they show up everyday? what they didn't learn anything? who cares, send them on their way they did the time.
back to basics people! teach them to read and write and count back change first!
Hey, according to the article, part of the program is that the laptops go home with the kids. They can play at home (or sit outside Starbucks and surf) if they wanted to.
Meaning, the laptop itself is not necessarily the reason more kids are coming to school.
Vaya con huevos, my darling.
So a bunch of kids get new computers to use, but what about competent teachers to teach the kids how to use these machines? Even more fundamentally, learning to use a computer is a great skill, but if you can't read or write, its value is greatly diminished. Maybe I am just being cynical, but I imagine that many of these kids sit in class all day, with the computer on, playing whatever free games came with the iBook or sending instant messages to each.
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
I'm sorry, there are just some very *wrong* things being said about this program both by people who claim to be from the state and via those from "away." So to clarify a number of things that have been said elsewhere:
/rr
1: The money for this program was privately generated and tagged specically for this program.
2: No general fund tax dollars are involved in this project...that is, no money that would otherwise go to other educational goals was diverted fund this.
3: Apple absolutely loss-lead this project...there is no doubt where the future is heading and a successful project here in Maine will pay off when NY or CA rolls out the same thing.
4: There is money being spent on teacher training and on technology integration into daily education.
5: This is an issue of equity of access and equity of opportunity. As Gov. King so eloquently explained, [paraphrasing] "My family was wealthy, when I was in school my father bought an Encyclopedia Brittanica for the house. Every other student in my class had to share the dog-eared one in the school library. Did this give me an advantage, absolutely. As of this moment, every single 7th grader in the State of Maine has their own World Book Encyclopedia because there is one on every single laptop." This program is about putting the single greatest educational TOOL since the printed book in the hands of those who need it most. It is about creating a structure within which those tools can be utilized to their highest and best use. It is about, frankly, the future of education.
6: The argument that kids can not be responsible is bunk...they are the exact same arguments that were being made when the debates about whether kids should be allowed to bring their textbooks home in the '30-40's...they were wrong then and wrong now.
I, for one, am very proud of this program. A decade from now, kids having laptops as part of their education will be a non-issue...like not allowing kids to bring books home, we will wonder what all the fuss was about. Will it go smoothly at every turn, no...is it the right path to go...absolutely. Maine's motto is Dirigo..."I Lead." Welcome to the future of education.
--
I do not fear computers. I fear lack of them.
- Isaac Asimov
River Oaks is a K-8 elementary school with a student population of about 800. A little over a decade ago, the new school was built, fully wired, and loaded with technology through partnerships with Apple (among others). There was one computer for every three students and a computer for every teacher.
I was a student in Oakville during River Oaks' heyday. I attended a less well-funded school in the same district, but was bused to River Oaks once a week to use their shop and kitchen facilities for classes. The school had some neat toys, there's no doubt about it--instead of paper sketches in shop class, we were using proper CAD software. We also did some work with computer controlled Lego Technics sets.
Did we actually learn any more? Nope. Was the technology overkill? Probably. I typed my papers on a Commodore 64 until my parents bought their first 386 when I was in Grade 8--but there I was, surrounded by all these shiny new Macs. (I thought that flying toasters were just the coolest thing...)
Now, River Oaks can't afford to upgrade or even maintain the technology they have in place. I imagine that other school districts face similar problems. After the 'gee whiz' wears off, what do you really need computers for in a school environment? Typing assignments. Doing research on the net. Preparing presentations.
How do you do these things? Have a few well-maintained computer labs in the school. As for those students who don't have a computer at home--they'll get by. I've been without a home computer for a month because I haven't gotten around to ordering some parts to repair my old clunker. I do my computer work on campus, and life goes on.
~Idarubicin
I live in Maine, on the coast - there's nothing inland.
The idea isn't to teach them about computers, but to immerse them in progress. To the average Mainer technology is a complete mystery. A favorite passtime is laughing at New Yorkers and thier cell phones -- when they're not getting drunk and lamenting about the employment problem.
Many people are living below the poverty level trying to eke a living out of industries that were essentially destroyed by unsophisticated people coping with a progressive world.
The laptop initiative has many detractors - most ask the question "How will we pay for it." The bigger issue is: If Maine doesn't get progressive pretty damned fast, how long will it be before we're the first state to declare bankruptcy? How much will this 3o-something million save in welfare money over the lifetimes of these kids?
This laptop "boondoggle" by the great Governor King a shotgun approach intended to provide a long-term "modernity" shot in the arm at the expense of short-term comfort and stability.
People will probably starve in Maine before this recession is over. Hopefully the next generation will take that hardship they grew up with, combined with a love of technology, and go further than this "lobster and tourist economy" could ever take them. Immersion is the key, and this crazy plan was the only step that a lame duck governor could mak ehappen. So he did it, and stuck the next bunch with the check.
scripsit mark_lybarger:
Around 1900 things were a bit different. That was back when there was a labor movement which was powerful, socialist, and struck fear into the hearts of the capital-owning classes. What concessions there were to workers were made when they couldn't get the National Guard to break a strike; violence was often the preferred response. (Of course, troops were used to break strikes even during the Reagan years in Arizona...)
Don't paint too rosy a picture of capital at that time; there was nothing enlightened about it. "Liked their job more" just wasn't a concern of capital.
In principio creauit Linus Linucem.
Well, where else but on /. would being less knowledgeable of computer languages be considered being stupid ? I'm sure you're among those who blame security problems on "stupid Windoze users that deserve it anyway!".
;)
I find your post very short-sighted and it is obvious that you have little understanding for how children learn and develop intelligence. There is no need to train kids on computers, just like there is no need to train them to use TVs or eat candy. They will learn it anyway, trust me,
With child-obesity at record levels, what we need to learn our children is to play outside, exercise, socialize and eat healthy. Maybe she should go horse riding if she's interested in animals - it's a great learning experience caring for a horse plus it practices empathy.
> My 11 year old has a better understanding about computers,
> operating systems and computing than 90% of the population.
That's great if you want your daughter to become a computer blue collar worker in 2010, you're doing fine. She'll make a good code-monkey or sysadmin perhaps. A computer is a tool, not a purpose.
What children need to learn is learning, not specific proficiencies. Maybe that's the good part of what you are doing, you're learning her to learn. But don't focus on the tools, they're irrelevant toys just like the ones she had when she was a baby. They are for learning, not for skills.
> He spends 3 hours with his child teaching, and 8-12 hours playing
> (you gotta keep up on the house and spouse/GF also)
There is no point in putting a child through 3 hours of school after school. And spending 15 hours a day with your daughter... I think you should put her into a real school and yourself into a job, just to give her a break!
Oh, I can't help quoting you because everything that you said rings true
If they aren't there, they're not going to learn anything, so attendance being up is a step in the right direction.
Counting back change? That'll take an act of Congress.
What the chances going out in the work force and working with a mac? very slim, it's stupid.
Maybe it's stupid for someone who only has enough room in their brain to use one OS (that's not what you're saying, right?), but guess what? Most kids I know can figure out how to get around any OS in no time. A window is a window, a menu is a menu, a X is an X (where X is radio button, check box, push button, etc.).
Do you really think that using software like Word/IE/Photoshop/etc. on a Mac is that different from using it on a PC? C'mon!
I think they need to better refine the metric by which they measure "success". If guess if you're in a public school, at least in California (and maybe Maine too), higher attendence would be considered a success since schools are essentially paid for every individual day that each individual student comes to class. As to whether or not the kids are actually learning more, the article is tellingly vague.
:) One wonders if the NY Times would be as effusive.
I think the answer is probably no. We had an almost identical program at my high school when I was there, except this was during the peak of the bubble when everything Internet was A Good Thing. Thus, the district had no problems or detractors when it decided to drop a couple of million on a program to give laptops to freshmen. Fancy IR-based networks were installed in the classrooms, teachers went off to some training program to learn how to harness the Internet in education, and 550 shiny new laptops got distributed to the incoming freshmen.
I should add that part of that cash-laden spending spree created a bunch of new opportunities that I and some nerd friends were able to take advantage of. We got jobs which paid the cushy-for-high-school rate of like $12/hr fixing the laptops as the idiot freshmen (why on Earth they gave them to the freshmen as opposed to the seniors, e.g. us at the time, I don't know) broke them. And boy did they ever. There's no way to quite describe the pained look my face acquire as I walked down the halls and saw the short freshmen who were unlucky enough to have score a high locker, turning the damn computer on its side and using it as a stepping stool. One time we got one that had been microwaved; the kid swore up and down that it was an accident. I swapped out screens that had been shot with BBs, I replaced keyboards where the keycaps had been rearranged to say "FUCKWHORE69". If my nose was not deceiving me, one time a kid shorted out his motherboard by spilling bong water on the laptop. This is to say nothing of the hours spent reimaging porn-, mp3- and virus-laden harddrives. Laptops that had been bad or karmically deficient in a previous life, they got sent to my high school the next time around.
Anyways, so I became pretty familiar with what these kids were doing with them. And I'll be damned if they were studying or learning anything. If attendence improved, it was only because kids were coming in to download more Kid Rock and nude J-Lo cutouts off our 3 T1s. The teachers didn't really use them, thought it was a waste of money that should have gone into their anemic salaries, and said so. In fact the only times I ever heard the word success used in conjunction with the program were at the same School Board meetings where the whole affair was conceived in the first place.
As a final thought, I ask you, when was the last time you really learned something on the Internet anyways? I'm not talking about delving into source code that you wgetted or reading math PDFs, but just plain old high school grammar, geography, history, etc.? Quality sources of that are few and far between, and many of them are of the "The Holocaust is a Jewish conspiracy" variety. In other words, worthless crap. If you're like me, all my friends, my family, all their friends, and, I think, about 99% of the surfers out there, you spend your time on the internet in a sort of subdued mental haze, not really thinking, not really learning, just being, possibly being entertained. Really, it's just like marijuana, or television. Now imagine what would happen if Maine gave 7th graders $37 million worth of Trinitrons and pot
I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
Better a body in the seat than a body on the street.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
Do any of the textbook publishing companies release their 1000 page books on CD so that the poor kids don't have back injuries?
Also don't you think that there will be problems with students defacing their computer? I certainly know that I have gotten some really defaced books in the past.
"Guns don't kill people, bullets do."