by Louy Castonguay

Created on: March 18, 2009

Maine Governor Baldacci inserted a few words about school computers in his State of the State in March 09. His predecessor, Governor King inserted computers in the schools for only a grade, seventh, with state funding. The program did not go as far as he had wished. in 2002-2003, 17,000 computers were put into 240 schools. It was called the Maine Learning Technology Initiative. Now Governor Baldacci seeks to expand that program, putting computers in the hands of 7 though 12. In this sluggish economy, IT is the way to go for our students. Furthermore, IT will be part of most any job that today's students will be doing in 1 to 5 years. Even flipping burgers and waitressing involves them, now.

"From my perspective, the effectiveness of the laptop computer initiative still rests on the shoulders of the teachers who must understand the role of instructional media design and its connections with clear, coherent classroom assessment." This is taken from "The Impact of Maine's One to One Laptop Program on Middle School Teachers and Students" by Jeffry S. Beaudry, PhD.

Classrooms have changed since the one room schoolhouse, where the teacher ruled, everyone went along at about the same pace, and computers will change that environment to a more student directed study place. The teacher is no longer the font of knowledge, like in the Victorian Era, where the amount of knowledge available on everything could be contained in one brain. Today, no one can even know all things about a certain field, say Biology, or even a certain concentration within a field, say Eagle reproduction. Computers are the answer. Students need to be familiar with them, with what they can bring to the party, how to handle them, run them, fix them, use them, and how to type. That means hands on use, computers in the classroom, teach the teachers to teach using them, and that is the best place to put education money.

When I first entered college at 35, in 1986, computers were the exception, and they were difficult and technical and cranky. I struggled to find venues to learn how to use them. Our students should be taught computers from a young age. Articles about brain development argue that what we do regularly affects how the brain wires itself and then about age ten, unused avenues drop out of the brain and through the teen years, the brain is still shaping itself. Like a foreign language or social mores, computer savvy is best acquired while the brain is still laying down circuits.

It is best for children to learn about computers, make them an integral part of their lives and know how to use them productively because it will give them a leg up in their future, both for employment and all other aspects of life in the coming years.

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