Laptops for All?
Justin Bathon on Tuesday, February 21, 2006 at 10:00AM Interesting idea emerging out of the Illinois Lt. Governor's office.
Pat Quinn is proposing a $50 million dollar proposal that would put a
laptop in the hands of every 7th grade student in the state. Here are
several articles on the subject: The Southern Illinoisan, Education Week (free registeration required), The St.L. Post-Dispatch, and a couple of posts from Alexander Russo's blogs.
The Edjurist knows there have been mixed results in Maine, where such a
program has already been instituted, but the idea is fantastic. What
better way (besides paying teachers more) is there to show students the
State cares about them than to give them gifts (thousand dollar gifts
that is). Plus, there is the added benefit of a totally computer
literate population (to attract those all too coveted "hi-tech jobs").
Finally, it would put schools on the forefront for once. Sure there
will be problems, but there are always problems when you lead a new
movement. Certainly, the Edjurist is fretting all the legal
implications of student access to the Internet during class. But, the
lesson here is that we can be proactive instead of reactive, doesn't
that sound nice for a change?
The problem, though, is the funding. The current proposal to close
Illinois loopholes is admirable, but shouldn't the big computer
companies being paying for this?
Here is a little lesson learned in law school (somewhere between torts
and civil procedure). West and Lexis (the two biggest legal research
providers) offer unlimited access to their services for all law
students. The plan is simple, get them hooked and then reap the rewards
when they graduate. While I know there is an underlying sinister
capitalist agenda, the fact is there is no other way to pay for it
other than big tuition increases.
States need to push for similar plans as laptops enter the K-12
mainstream. Undoubtedly, there will need to be tax increases otherwise
and that could slow the technological integration for decades. Teaming
with businesses on this one is a win-win.
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