Educational Technology Ray Schroeder, editor, OTEL - University of Illinois at Springfield |
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News, Techniques and Theories of Effective Use of Technology in Education 
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Thursday, September 19, 2002
http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2002/09/viewpoint.html The Trouble with Maine Jerry Crystal The vision behind Maine's laptop initiative should be applauded, but the reality may give one pause. This fall, the great state of Maine begins a four-year odyssey that will put an Apple iBook wireless laptop computer in the hands of every seventh- and eighth-grade student and teacher in the 241 middle schools of the state. In Governor Angus King's words, the holy grail of this endeavor is "to produce the most digitally literate society in the world." Is this a worthwhile and honorable goal? Absolutely. But while radical innovations like the Maine Learning Technology Initiative are important, especially in these days of conservative approaches, so is creating a program based in reality-one that incorporates enough financial resources, training, and support to ensure its success, and ultimately produce measurable learning outcomes for students. As a technology specialist charged with implementing a middle school laptop program during the 1998-2002 school years, I would like to go on record with my concerns. Maine needs to address several issues in order for MLTI to reach its full potential....
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