The Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) broke new ground in 2002 and 2003 by distributing more than 30,000 computers to every seventh- and eighth-grader in the state's public schools. Now the Maine Department of Education is doing what it can to expand this first-in-the-nation program to the high school level. But, unlike the state's middle school program — which has covered the costs of the software, hardware, network infrastructure, warranties, technical support, professional development, and data back-up services — the high school expansion plans are relying heavily on local funding and support.

Given the current economy, state leaders cannot afford to foot the bill for the hardware and software required for one-to-one computing for all of Maine's high school students. Nevertheless, recognizing the success of the middle school MLTI program and the incredible demand that it created to keep powerful 21^st century tools in the hands of students as they moved from eighth to ninth grade, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) has focused on two ways of helping high schools jump on board: providing the wireless network infrastructure schools need to support the laptops and offering interested districts a discount on laptop computers.

Under a four-year lease, Apple Inc. will provide MacBook computers with 13-inch screens, 160-gigabyte hard drives, built-in cameras and a full slate of software at a cost of $242 per year per computer, or a total cost of $968. According to the state DOE, slightly more than half of Maine's high schools — with more than 23,000 students — have opted into the program for this school year.

One of those participating schools is Hall-Dale High School. Unlike most high schools in the state, Hall-Dale had already issued laptops to its students and the new Apple MacBooks will replace the older laptops. Michael Reinhard, a 17-year-old high school senior quoted by the Associated Press, said he used to type reports in the sixth grade and it is hard to imagine going back to a typewriter after creating word processed files, podcasts and more on his school computer. "Everyone tells me that education is supposed to be creative," he said. "I've never seen more creative projects for education than with these MacBooks."

Finding the Funds

The state provides every district with $289 per student annually to cover technology expenses and a number of high schools participating in the state's one-to-one program are paying the Apple leases with these funds — or with help from federal stimulus funding, grants, bonds and other means. However, there are a number of districts that have already earmarked their technology funds for other purposes and are seeking less expensive ways of putting mobile computers in the hands of their high school students. For some of them the answer is netbooks — low-cost, scaled-down laptops designed to derive much of their content from the Internet.

One example was offered in an August 18, 2009, Education Week article by Katie Ash:

In response to the economic challenges presented by the state program, Sharon Betts, the educational technology coordinator for the Maine School Administrative District #52, along with several other ed-tech coordinators from schools across the state, has created a grassroots consortium to identify cost-effective alternatives to the state-led laptop program. For many schools, "those funds just aren't there," she says.

Instead of ordering laptops for each student—the state program provides each student with a MacBook—the group decided to go with a more affordable alternative: 10-inch ASUS netbooks that support either a Windows or Linux operating system. Currently, about 3,000 units have been ordered. The consortium was able to negotiate a price of about $289 for each netbook with a one-year warranty, or $438 for a unit with a three-year warranty.

The Kennebeck Journal reports that Cony High School in Augusta, Maine, is hoping to purchase Dell netbooks for all of its students. The netbooks, which are said to have been customized especially for Maine's high schools, will ship with software including antivirus, Microsoft Office and Windows XP, extended battery life and a hard case, and will cost about $565 each. In addition to the lower price, what the district likes about the netbooks is the fact that the schools will buy rather than lease them. With the Apple lease, at the end of four years the district either needs to return the laptops to the state or purchase them at a discount.

Portland, Maine, is also opting for netbooks. According to the Portland Press Herald:

The School Committee approved a $1.3 million plan Wednesday [September 2] to provide Dell Netbook personal computers for the 2,129 students in the city's three public high schools. The plan also would allow the district to purchase 1,179 Apple iBooks that have been used in the city's three middle schools for the last three years and redeploy them throughout the city's 10 elementary schools.

… Superintendent Jim Morse and his staff developed the Dell Netbook plan rather than spend $2.3 million to buy Apple MacBooks for the high schools under a lease-and-service program offered through the Maine Department of Education. The unfunded MacBook program is being promoted as an effort to help districts expand the state's laptop program beyond its middle schools.

The city's middle schools will be getting new MacBooks this year, paid for by the state.

Staying the Course

Whether schools are getting their computers through the state program or through an alternative approach that has them providing more of their own support, one thing that experts like Bette Manchester, the former director of MLTI, caution is not to lose sight of key educational goals such as equity and providing professional development to support teachers to use the technology effectively. "I think we've been fortunate to be able to move forward," she said in a recent Education Week article, "but I think the notion of equity and access still needs to be at the forefront. … The focus has [also] been on pedagogical practices, use of effective content, and learning to use the tools. This is not a technology project, it's a learning project."

Sources:

Education Week's Digital Directions, Maine Laptop Expansion Moves Forward by Katie Ash

Kennebec Journal, Cony students edging closer to new computers by Keith Edwards and State unveils laptops at Hall-Dale by Matthew Stone

Portland Press Herald, School board OKs Netbooks for high schools and School netbook proposal backed by Kelly Bouchard

Associated Press, Maine widens school laptop program to high schools by David Sharp