Comments (3)

By Sarah, June 30, 2009 8:32 pm

Continuing on its path to being awesome, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative announced today that it will be extending its MacBook notebook program to high school students.

Photo: Flickr user pinkyia

Since 2002, the state’s education board has been working with Apple to provide notebooks to middle school students. This expansion will give high school students in grades 7-12 the same benefit.

Maine is currently the only state to feature such a program; the Maine Department of Education has already ordered more than 64,000 MacBooks for students and faculty, with an additional 7,000 that will be ordered in the coming weeks.

Maine Education Commissioner Sue Gendron said,

“We have seen incredible success, with our middle schools showing increased student engagement and achievement with (Maine Learning Technology Initiative) in place, and we want to bring this same opportunity to our high schools.” Gendron continued, “this is not just about technology–it’s about using the technology to support education.”

This is fantastic. I wish this had been available when I was in high school. This is especially useful now that technology is being integrated at a rapid pace into the high school curriculum, and more and more students are learning their trade prior to college (which some are skipping altogether). For students who are eager to learn about digital media, design, film, music, and more creative fields, getting experience on an Apple is the only way to go.

In addition to the hardware, Apple also plans to provide the state with educational software, professional development, repair and replacement, and tech support. Students will not only become more familiar with technology in general, but will do research, write and edit, conduct online simulations, and take online tutorials.

So you get a free computer, but it still belongs to the school. Students are able to use the MacBooks at home and at school, but they must be returned at the end of the school year.

Guess those un-internet savvy teens better watch their browsing history and delete all those racy Photo Booth pics before handing it over at the end of the term! … or not. Scandalous!

via CNET