www.me.future

As a statement of where Maine should be going, Gov. King’s proposal Thursday to give laptop computers to all seventh-graders is bold and visionary. It is also, clearly, a work in progress, and will be made a success or failure based on Maine’s willingness to be receptive to the idea and then help shape it.

Given the chronic problems in Maine and the relatively robust economy, Gov. King has been urged, often none too politely, to take some audacious step. Better to do something and be wrong, was the sentiment, than to do nothing at all. Well, this is it: a $65 million trust fund to annually supply seventh-graders with the computers starting in 2002, begin teacher training well before that and tell the nation that Maine is determined to have its children ready for the wired world.

Critics of the idea are as common as pocket protectors in Silicon Valley. The money could be better spent elsewhere, like on school renovation or textbooks; the students can’t be trusted to take care of the laptops; the technology won’t last the expected five years. Most importantly, there is scant data supporting the idea that computers make for better students.

These are serious complaints, and some lawmakers no doubt will seize on them to try to defeat the proposal.

And yet, it would be interesting to find out how many lawmakers think that in eight or nine years computers won’t be in every student’s backpack. Not many, probably, making the question not whether the students will have them, but how. Seymour Papert is a professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-founders of MIT’s Media Lab and Artificial Intelligence Lab. He is also a supporter of the governor’s proposal. Along with the technologically minded former governor of West Virginia, Gaston Caperton, Dr. Papert recently wrote the following:

“There is much talk about `closing the equity gap’ or `leveling the playing field’ by connecting every classroom to the Internet and so giving every child `access to the Information Highway.’ But these are abstract phrases. `Access’ to a personally owned computer that is available all the time is fundamentally different from the kind of `access’ a student can get from a handful of computers in a classroom. Obviously, limited access is better than none, but it is delusional to think of it as `equity.’ The ITAL minimal action UNITAL that will make a serious difference is ensuring that every child has a personal computer.”

Nearly half of Maine families have computers, plenty of schools have computer labs, none have enough for every student. In terms of equity, lawmakers might guess which end of the state is more likely to have computers for its students, more likely to be able to use state-of-the-art teaching programs, tap into the world’s best research or most valuable lab courses. Under the King proposal, schools that could never afford the science equipment of wealthier districts suddenly could afford to model the most complex experiments on line. Advanced and college-level courses would available to smallest high schools.

Could the money be better spent elsewhere? Maine has a large unmet need for school construction and renovation, of which lawmakers are only too happy to remind the governor. These would be the lawmakers who are building bipartisan support to repeal the $15 million snack tax, apparently defending Maine’s inalienable right to saturated fats. In truth, Maine can increase General Purpose Aid to Education, which provides property tax relief, use that snack tax to fix up schools and still fund the computer proposal. The priority rests with the Legislature.

Some of the criticisms of the governor’s plan could ultimately make it more effective. Greater emphasis on teacher training will ensure the computers aren’t mere toys; pilot programs, as Texas is doing, would allow Maine to gather data on how to do this most effectively and give the trust fund more time to grow. The best part about new ideas such as this one is that they can be influenced by people willing to get involved.

A decade from now, the thought of paying anything for laptops might be like paying for cell phones now — it’s not the hardware but the service that counts. How Maine gets there matters a lot, but lawmakers should have no doubt that computers soon will be a part of every student’s supplies. Gov. King has presented a powerful way to make that happen. The next step is to ensure it happens right.