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New Hampshire to Follow Maine's Lead

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."

10 of 236 comments (clear)

  1. !!! FIRST POST !!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    pooahh

  2. GRASSHOPPERS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    word is bond motha fuckas!

  3. It barely works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    " The bottom line with using Apple laptops is that they are simple to use and maintain with a big emphasis on maintain"

    The reason for this is that they hardly run any software compared to PC's and as a result, they will be used as lot less than a PC. Yeah, my old 8-track player is simple to use, and takes up so little of my time because I don't use it. As a non-used appliance, there are no maintenance worries either.

    " I hope they will take what we have learned thus far in Maine and get their program off to a good start."

    They'd be better off learning with computers found in the real world. The skills will be wasted if they learn on Macs, because once they get out into the real world, there are hardly any of them in business. If you want to save money and have them use machines they will only use in school, why not spend $20 each to get them Commodore 64's.

    PC's not only work, they play, create, and do a lot of other things as well. There are better alternatives to something that only works.

  4. Why not use computers for E-learning? by HanzoSan · · Score: 0, Troll



    Ever use Blackboard? It helps with teaching.

    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.

    Thats because math isnt taught in a way so that people actually learn it. You dont learn math by memorization alone but thats how its taught, its just rote memorization.

    Also students dont know math very well because we distract them with a hell of alot of other subjects, like history, PE, and all those elective s which just waste time.

    --
    If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
  5. Laptops are not worth the cost. by jjhlk · · Score: 1, Troll

    I cannot see any reason to spend this much on something that will do so little. (Note: media classes are exempt; laptops are useful in them.)

    A laptop might let you take notes quicker, and save for some minor annoyances like key-tapping and maybe computer-noises, that's a pro. But other than that, is there anything laptops can add to a class?

    Maybe quizes could be administered quickly. But with that sort of technology it could be easier to cheat. And would quizes really be any better than on paper?

    There would be some communication benefits perhaps. Nothing will be any better than someone sticking up their hand, though - and in this case the whole class can hear the question (or ignore it). So silent questions to the teacher while in class is out. It wouldn't be good to allow students to communicate like that, I think, since they could get off topic too quickly. It will be easier to focus without chatting.

    A big con is that students could possibly be installing games and crap they shouldn't be using when instead they are supposed to be learning.

    Maybe laptops could provide more interactive learning to replace the textbook. But still, I don't see how that could be so much better when doing math problems is easier on paper. If the questions are given on the laptop, it still is no better than a textbook. Students should be listening to the teacher in class though, and doing homework at home (imo - get the most use out of class time).

    Monitors are hard on your eyes after a while. I haven't used a laptop for a long amount of time (don't own one), but this could just add more health problems. (well, very minor ones I'm sure - headaches and such at the worst)

    Textbooks get better written and updated with new information all the time. I think they ought to be spending any extra money on textbooks, not useless laptops. I know my high-school classes could have used better ones. My new, expensive college textbooks are excellent.

    Waste of money...

  6. What a waste of money by kalislashdot · · Score: 0, Troll

    Laptops are useless. What a waste of money. How about actually teaching the kids.

  7. The Trials and Tribulations of HanzoSan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    Dana Edwards was feeling a little disheartened. It had been nearly a week since he'd contacted Peacecorp and applied for a tour of duty in the Congo. He had hoped all week that his weight problem, chronic acne and asthma would not discount him from the program. Dana had been in some financial strife for a couple years now, with those tuition fees from Massachusetts Bay Community College piling up. This was particularly stressful for him because, despite having taught himself to read and posessing an impressive intellect, he could not find a decent slack-off job with internet connection that would support his slashdot posting habit. Dana belched while he tapped his cordless phone and stuffed his hand into a bag of Cheetos. Dana, a Jack of All Trades had also been unsuccessful for several years in his attempts to get a night DJ position at a local AM radio station within walking distance of his mother's house. This distressed him, because being a DJ would be such a natural part-time job for him, being a skilled musician on the side. Alas, he waited still and finished the last fluid ounce of his Mountain Dew.

    Peacecorp was going to change that. Where his business sense would have failed him in the Merchant Marines and his poor physical condition were not up to snuff for the military, he felt Peacecorp would welcome him with open arms and take his student loan burden off his hands.

    "Education equals genius. Genius is good for society. I'll show them, I'm going to buck the status quo. I'm going to make a difference, I'll show them what a poor kid from the ghetto is capable of." Dana thought to himself.

    Dana had not shaven for five days, but his greasy facial hair never became very thick, even after weeks of neglect. It grew in a thin, spotty Fu Manchu pattern. Best described, his whiskers resembled soot smeared on his greasy jowels. He scratched at his armpit and pulled the tightening fabric of his pajama pants out of his groin and sighed with relief.

    "Aaaah."

    Dana was glad that the weekend had finally come around. His Computer Repair Fundamentals and Sociology classes were starting to really dig in. He blamed the teacher for sucking, and was utterly convinced that his superior intellect would reward him with first in his graduating class of 40. He was certain that the same outcome would happen if he got into MIT, but that would never happen. The rich bastards would never give him a fair chance on a level playing field. The MIT bastards hate nerds, just like everybody else. That was alright though, Dana already knew he was superior to most of them anyway. Their facilities were only useful to the superficial.

    Dana loosened up a bit by putting some music on the 'juke. He got a free MP3 jukebox from his mother and slapped an "RIAA SUCKS" bumper sticker on the side of it. Dana was vehemently opposed to the ownership and licensing of intellectual property, especially music. Dana downloaded all his favourite Pink Floyd tracks off the internet and onto the jukebox, and this brought a small amount of joy to his empty life.

    "Damn the man!" he exclaimed, raising a fist as his gut flopped out of his oil-stained ThinkGeek t-shirt.

    Ice T and Fred Durst alone had practically paved the way to justified downloads of all music ever created and served up on KaZaa. And so, Dana sat in in front of his monitor listening to The Wall, waiting for a reply from Peacecorp.

    His mother slipped in to his room briefly to set down a balogna and cheese sandwich in front of him while he fired up a beta version of Transgaming on his Pentium 166 with MMX.

    "Mom, why don't you hate the RIAA?"

    She shrugged, rolled her eyes and closed the door to his room on the way out.

    "She forgot to cut off the crusts." Dana held back the tears and ate the sandwich anyway.


    [montemplar] wuzzup hanz0?

    A privmsg came up on his IRC client. Dana had adopted the "handle" HanzoSan after his Japanes

  8. The Trials and Tribulations of HanzoSan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Dana Edwards was feeling a little disheartened. It had been nearly a week since he'd contacted Peacecorp and applied for a tour of duty in the Congo. He had hoped all week that his weight problem, chronic acne and asthma would not discount him from the program. Dana had been in some financial strife for a couple years now, with those tuition fees from Massachusetts Bay Community College piling up. This was particularly stressful for him because, despite having taught himself to read and posessing an impressive intellect, he could not find a decent slack-off job with internet connection that would support his slashdot posting habit. Dana belched while he tapped his cordless phone and stuffed his hand into a bag of Cheetos. Dana, a Jack of All Trades had also been unsuccessful for several years in his attempts to get a night DJ position at a local AM radio station within walking distance of his mother's house. This distressed him, because being a DJ would be such a natural part-time job for him, being a skilled musician on the side. Alas, he waited still and finished the last fluid ounce of his Mountain Dew.

    Peacecorp was going to change that. Where his business sense would have failed him in the Merchant Marines and his poor physical condition were not up to snuff for the military, he felt Peacecorp would welcome him with open arms and take his student loan burden off his hands.

    "Education equals genius. Genius is good for society. I'll show them, I'm going to buck the status quo. I'm going to make a difference, I'll show them what a poor kid from the ghetto is capable of." Dana thought to himself.

    Dana had not shaven for five days, but his greasy facial hair never became very thick, even after weeks of neglect. It grew in a thin, spotty Fu Manchu pattern. Best described, his whiskers resembled soot smeared on his greasy jowels. He scratched at his armpit and pulled the tightening fabric of his pajama pants out of his groin and sighed with relief.

    "Aaaah."

    Dana was glad that the weekend had finally come around. His Computer Repair Fundamentals and Sociology classes were starting to really dig in. He blamed the teacher for sucking, and was utterly convinced that his superior intellect would reward him with first in his graduating class of 40. He was certain that the same outcome would happen if he got into MIT, but that would never happen. The rich bastards would never give him a fair chance on a level playing field. The MIT bastards hate nerds, just like everybody else. That was alright though, Dana already knew he was superior to most of them anyway. Their facilities were only useful to the superficial.

    Dana loosened up a bit by putting some music on the 'juke. He got a free MP3 jukebox from his mother and slapped an "RIAA SUCKS" bumper sticker on the side of it. Dana was vehemently opposed to the ownership and licensing of intellectual property, especially music. Dana downloaded all his favourite Pink Floyd tracks off the internet and onto the jukebox, and this brought a small amount of joy to his empty life.

    "Damn the man!" he exclaimed, raising a fist as his gut flopped out of his oil-stained ThinkGeek t-shirt.

    Ice T and Fred Durst alone had practically paved the way to justified downloads of all music ever created and served up on KaZaa. And so, Dana sat in in front of his monitor listening to The Wall, waiting for a reply from Peacecorp.

    His mother slipped in to his room briefly to set down a balogna and cheese sandwich in front of him while he fired up a beta version of Transgaming on his Pentium 166 with MMX.

    "Mom, why don't you hate the RIAA?"

    She shrugged, rolled her eyes and closed the door to his room on the way out.

    "She forgot to cut off the crusts." Dana held back the tears and ate the sandwich anyway.


    [montemplar] wuzzup hanz0?

    A privmsg came up on his IRC client. Dana had adopted the "handle" HanzoSan after his J

  9. The Trials and Tribulations of HanzoSan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Dana Edwards was feeling a little disheartened. It had been nearly a week since he'd contacted Peacecorp and applied for a tour of duty in the Congo. He had hoped all week that his weight problem, chronic acne and asthma would not discount him from the program. Dana had been in some financial strife for a couple years now, with those tuition fees from Massachusetts Bay Community College piling up. This was particularly stressful for him because, despite having taught himself to read and posessing an impressive intellect, he could not find a decent slack-off job with internet connection that would support his slashdot posting habit. Dana belched while he tapped his cordless phone and stuffed his hand into a bag of Cheetos. Dana, a Jack of All Trades had also been unsuccessful for several years in his attempts to get a night DJ position at a local AM radio station within walking distance of his mother's house. This distressed him, because being a DJ would be such a natural part-time job for him, being a skilled musician on the side. Alas, he waited still and finished the last fluid ounce of his Mountain Dew.

    Peacecorp was going to change that. Where his business sense would have failed him in the Merchant Marines and his poor physical condition were not up to snuff for the military, he felt Peacecorp would welcome him with open arms and take his student loan burden off his hands.

    "Education equals genius. Genius is good for society. I'll show them, I'm going to buck the status quo. I'm going to make a difference, I'll show them what a poor kid from the ghetto is capable of." Dana thought to himself.

    Dana had not shaven for five days, but his greasy facial hair never became very thick, even after weeks of neglect. It grew in a thin, spotty Fu Manchu pattern. Best described, his whiskers resembled soot smeared on his greasy jowels. He scratched at his armpit and pulled the tightening fabric of his pajama pants out of his groin and sighed with relief.

    "Aaaah."

    Dana was glad that the weekend had finally come around. His Computer Repair Fundamentals and Sociology classes were starting to really dig in. He blamed the teacher for sucking, and was utterly convinced that his superior intellect would reward him with first in his graduating class of 40. He was certain that the same outcome would happen if he got into MIT, but that would never happen. The rich bastards would never give him a fair chance on a level playing field. The MIT bastards hate nerds, just like everybody else. That was alright though, Dana already knew he was superior to most of them anyway. Their facilities were only useful to the superficial.

    Dana loosened up a bit by putting some music on the 'juke. He got a free MP3 jukebox from his mother and slapped an "RIAA SUCKS" bumper sticker on the side of it. Dana was vehemently opposed to the ownership and licensing of intellectual property, especially music. Dana downloaded all his favourite Pink Floyd tracks off the internet and onto the jukebox, and this brought a small amount of joy to his empty life.

    "Damn the man!" he exclaimed, raising a fist as his gut flopped out of his oil-stained ThinkGeek t-shirt.

    Ice T and Fred Durst alone had practically paved the way to justified downloads of all music ever created and served up on KaZaa. And so, Dana sat in in front of his monitor listening to The Wall, waiting for a reply from Peacecorp.

    His mother slipped in to his room briefly to set down a balogna and cheese sandwich in front of him while he fired up a beta version of Transgaming on his Pentium 166 with MMX.

    "Mom, why don't you hate the RIAA?"

    She shrugged, rolled her eyes and closed the door to his room on the way out.

    "She forgot to cut off the crusts." Dana held back the tears and ate the sandwich anyway.


    [montemplar] wuzzup hanz0?

    A privmsg came up on his IRC client. Dana had adopted the "handle" HanzoSan after his J

  10. The Trials and Tribulations of HanzoSan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    Dana Edwards was feeling a little disheartened. It had been nearly a week since he'd contacted Peacecorp and applied for a tour of duty in the Congo. He had hoped all week that his weight problem, chronic acne and asthma would not discount him from the program. Dana had been in some financial strife for a couple years now, with those tuition fees from Massachusetts Bay Community College piling up. This was particularly stressful for him because, despite having taught himself to read and posessing an impressive intellect, he could not find a decent slack-off job with internet connection that would support his slashdot posting habit. Dana belched while he tapped his cordless phone and stuffed his hand into a bag of Cheetos. Dana, a Jack of All Trades had also been unsuccessful for several years in his attempts to get a night DJ position at a local AM radio station within walking distance of his mother's house. This distressed him, because being a DJ would be such a natural part-time job for him, being a skilled musician on the side. Alas, he waited still and finished the last fluid ounce of his Mountain Dew.

    Peacecorp was going to change that. Where his business sense would have failed him in the Merchant Marines and his poor physical condition were not up to snuff for the military, he felt Peacecorp would welcome him with open arms and take his student loan burden off his hands.

    "Education equals genius. Genius is good for society. I'll show them, I'm going to buck the status quo. I'm going to make a difference, I'll show them what a poor kid from the ghetto is capable of." Dana thought to himself.

    Dana had not shaven for five days, but his greasy facial hair never became very thick, even after weeks of neglect. It grew in a thin, spotty Fu Manchu pattern. Best described, his whiskers resembled soot smeared on his greasy jowels. He scratched at his armpit and pulled the tightening fabric of his pajama pants out of his groin and sighed with relief.

    "Aaaah."

    Dana was glad that the weekend had finally come around. His Computer Repair Fundamentals and Sociology classes were starting to really dig in. He blamed the teacher for sucking, and was utterly convinced that his superior intellect would reward him with first in his graduating class of 40. He was certain that the same outcome would happen if he got into MIT, but that would never happen. The rich bastards would never give him a fair chance on a level playing field. The MIT bastards hate nerds, just like everybody else. That was alright though, Dana already knew he was superior to most of them anyway. Their facilities were only useful to the superficial.

    Dana loosened up a bit by putting some music on the 'juke. He got a free MP3 jukebox from his mother and slapped an "RIAA SUCKS" bumper sticker on the side of it. Dana was vehemently opposed to the ownership and licensing of intellectual property, especially music. Dana downloaded all his favourite Pink Floyd tracks off the internet and onto the jukebox, and this brought a small amount of joy to his empty life.

    "Damn the man!" he exclaimed, raising a fist as his gut flopped out of his oil-stained ThinkGeek t-shirt.

    Ice T and Fred Durst alone had practically paved the way to justified downloads of all music ever created and served up on KaZaa. And so, Dana sat in in front of his monitor listening to The Wall, waiting for a reply from Peacecorp.

    His mother slipped in to his room briefly to set down a balogna and cheese sandwich in front of him while he fired up a beta version of Transgaming on his Pentium 166 with MMX.

    "Mom, why don't you hate the RIAA?"

    She shrugged, rolled her eyes and closed the door to his room on the way out.

    "She forgot to cut off the crusts." Dana held back the tears and ate the sandwich anyway.


    [montemplar] wuzzup hanz0?

    A privmsg came up on his IRC client. Dana had adopted the "handle" HanzoSan after his Japanese