Kansas School District Rolls Out 1:1 MacBook Program

Dave Nagel's article, "Kansas School District Rolls Out 1:1 MacBook Program," tells the story of a school district which is comprised of low socio-economic students and how it managed to obtain sufficient funding to get laptops to every student and teacher in the district. Despite cynicism of a local radio DJ and other naysayers, students did not sell their laptops for drugs, became excited about learning, and became producers as opposed to merely being customers. Not only did students prove these pessimists wrong but they also brought up their reading and math scores above and beyond original expectations.

I love this story of how successful integrating technology in schools benefits everyone. These students not only brought up their standardized test scores but now have the ability to do research, create videos and movies, and experience authentic and challenging learning. I also appreciate the pragmatic approach that the school district has taken by their leasing the computers and software because they will not be stuck with obsolete technology (which becomes "new and improved" on almost an hourly basis).