EXTRACT FROM WIRED
http://www.wired.com/culture/education/news/2002/11/56284

Teachers Mainely Happy With Tech
Katie Dean Email 11.14.02 | 2:00 AM

When Maine Gov. Angus King unveiled his plan to put a computer in the hands of every seventh-grader in the state, some thought the idea was as loony as trying to catch a laptop in a lobster trap.

Teachers in particular were concerned. After all, they would be expected to use the machines with their students -- many of whom knew more about computers than they did.

A recent trip to three Maine schools offered a glimpse of how attitudes about the program are shifting: Many teachers are now more enthusiastic than dubious......

Read More >> http://www.wired.com/culture/education/news/2002/11/56284

Maine’s Laptops Found to Aid Writing Scores

GREAT EXTRACT FROM EDUCATION WEEK.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/10/31/10apmaine.h27.html

Published Online: October 24, 2007
Published in Print: October 31, 2007
Maine’s Laptops Found to Aid Writing Scores
By The Associated Press

Maine’s program to give every 7th and 8th grade student a laptop computer is leading to better writing. 4real!

Despite creating a language all their own using e-mail and text messages, students are still learning standard English, and their writing scores improved on the state’s standardized writing test in 2005 compared with 2000, before laptop computers were distributed, according to a new study.

Students’ writing skills were higher whether they took the online or pen-and-paper version of the state test. Yet students who said they use laptops in more phases of the writing process scored significantly higher than students who use them in fewer phases or not at all, the study found........