From the Miami Herald: Within a few months, 4,500 Broward students — some as young as 9 — will be on the front lines of a technological revolution in the county’s classrooms. Each student in the pilot project will be issued an Apple iBook computer.
The School Board has spent $5 million from its capital budget for the iBooks — the first step toward putting a personal computer in the hands of every child in grades 3 to 12.
School officials caution they’re still working on details of what’s called one-to-one computing, which is planned for Monarch High in Coconut Creek, Miramar High, Attucks Middle in Hollywood and Broward Estates Elementary in Fort Lauderdale.
But technology leaders are already thinking bigger. “One-to-one is a big initiative for us,” said the school district’s new chief information officer, Vijay Sonty. “We want to reform and restructure how technology is used in schools.”
I actually attend Miramar High and we are currently in the process of
receiving our laptops. The teachers have yet to receive this device that
will allow them to see what we are doing, so many kids have already found
ways to download extras such as instant messenger. Also, our wireless
network often blotches out, (those annoying "cannot find server" messages)
and a lot of pages you have real trouble getting into. (not because they
are forbidden, just because, well, i don't know) Another downside is that
it is very heavy and a big responsibility for us kids. I personally know
three people that have broken, lost, or endangered their laptop. It is a
very fun tool and a nice integration of technology into school, and I feel
proud to be the first group to experience this.