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........

Learning Hubs

The Learning Hubs Project is a one-to-one learning initiative involving 44,000 pupils and 5,000 teachers across The City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, and the Scottish Borders Councils.

The aim of the project is to improve educational attainment and pedagogic performance by providing every teacher and school child (primary 6 and above) with a personal learning device or “learning hub” such as a laptop computer, PDA or Tablet. All evidence shows that one-to-one learning vastly improves pupil motivation, involvement and attitude, resulting in a more enjoyable and productive classroom environment. This project if implemented today would be the largest and most ambitious one to one learning initiative in the World. The Learning Hubs Project combined with the Scottish Schools Digital Network "SSDN" will position Scotland with one of, if not the most advanced educational platforms in the world.

Virtually all jobs available in the future will require the mastery of information technologies. Scotland's ability to compete in a global economy will be predicated upon the country's commitment to educating, training and re-training a highly skilled workforce.

The promise of Scotland's future resides in the minds of pupils whose potential to thrive is limited only by their opportunity to learn.