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New Hampshire to Follow Maine's Lead

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the laptops-for-the-masses dept.

Timex writes "According to an article from the Portland [Maine] Press Herald, some seventh-graders in New Hampshire will be issued laptops in January. 19 school districts have been invited to submit proposals, and up to five of them will be chosen to lead the way in New Hampshire. Cabletron Systems co-founder and NH Governor Craig Benson is getting funding for the four-year project from corporate donations. So far, he's gathered about half of the estimated $1.2 million estimated cost."

4 of 236 comments (clear)

  1. Would be good if... by Blaine+Hilton · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The teachers knew how to use them, and the system admins know more about securing them then the kids that are using them.

  2. Kid's and laptops. by Hayzeus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I dunno. I can't see issuing my middle schooler a laptop. Not because I have any particular problem with their use in education, but because the kid has a tendency to drop stuff (and lose stuff). Seems to be endemic to the age group.

    --

    Roving Web-Teleoperated Robot
  3. REAL computer curriculums needed BEFORE computers! by blueworm · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I help support the laptops here in Maine and the program is a complete joke. Schools don't do much more than post information on the Apple run FirstClass mail server and have students use search engines with the things.

    Now if a REAL computer curriculum were to be developed around the Unix aspects of Mac OS X that would be something, but integration with the classroom itself isn't going to happen. I don't know how it could really without losing the attention of students who resort to web browsing during dull (and meaningless) lectures.

    High School/Public School education is a joke in the U.S. Student's don't even know algebra by the time they graduate with A's in math.

  4. Oversold and Underused? by pbooktebo · · Score: 4, Interesting
    As a teacher who used a mac in teaching music, I think that they are amazing tools when used in moderation. I do support the use of computers in classrooms, but it is also true that the only technology that really revolutionized education is the blackboard. In the past 100 years, grandiose claims were made for record albums, film strips, movies, TV in classes, etc. Often, the claim has been that teachers will become obsolete.

    Larry Cuban, a professor of education at Stanford, has written a book on the subject, "Computers in the classroom: oversold and underused," which is available in .pdf form here:

    http://www.hup.harvard.edu/pdf/CUBOVE.pdf