In 2002, Maine became the first state to implement a statewide laptop program to some grade levels. Then-governor Angus King saw the program as a way to put the internet at the fingertips of more children, who would be able to immerse themselves in information.
By that fall, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative had distributed 17,000 Apple laptops to seventh graders across 243 middle schools. By 2016, those numbers had multiplied to 66,000 laptops and tablets distributed to Maine students.
King’s initial efforts have been mirrored across the country. In 2024, the U.S. spent more than $30 billion putting laptops and tablets in schools. But more than a quarter-century and numerous evolving models of technology later, psychologists and learning experts see a different outcome than the one King intended. Rather than empowering the generation with access to more knowledge, the technology had the opposite effect.
Nah, it’s a bad idea, especially with internet connection. They are portals of distraction.
My schools just had a computer lab, and we still mostly figured out how to play games or hack the computers.
I remember one time, on very locked down PCs, I figured out how to use DirectX diagnostic tools to start a group chat on the local network. I didn’t even know about that thing, nor was there internet.
I can imagine computers being good only as fully controlled environments with secured connections, no USBs, total control over what software can be opened and used. Anything less is a waste of time.
“These things that I was given access to during my formative years and education? Yea, we absolutely shouldn’t let kids today have any access to them at all… for reasons(?)”
Anything can be a portal to distraction for kids that are bored to tears by an awful teacher, better not let them have colored pencils, they might ‘waste time’ drawing. If they don’t interact with computers at all for their education, they will definitely only think about computers as a box for games and/or youtube, and they will struggle with their use for a long time after. We need an environment to explore the systems and the world around us, where there can be boundaries if we get too far out in left field before we are dropped into the real world with real consequences.
I had one at home. The lab was fairly useless and definitely not good for exploration. I learned from breaking and reinstalling the OS and other things; if you do that at school, you get in trouble.