As a computer analyst who writes complex software programs, Choosri Lao of Tinley Park understands technology is intertwined with everyday life. Still, she refuses to buy a laptop computer for her high school-bound daughter.
Lao is not alone.
Consolidated High School District 230 officials found out as much when they mentioned earlier this month that they were considering requiring freshmen to purchase laptop computers. Within days of the announcement, parents swamped the Orland Park school district phone lines, complaining about everything from prohibitive costs to an unwillingness to buy a $2,000 piece of equipment for a child who can’t even keep track of a $30 backpack.
“It created quite a bit of a problem,” said Darrell Walery, the technology coordinator for the district, who first mentioned the idea at a July 22 school board meeting. “The number of calls we’ve gotten–I’d say dozens–indicates to us that requiring students to buy laptops is not a popular idea right now.”
Actually, Walery said, requiring students to buy portable computers was never really an option. What he meant to say during that board meeting was that students may be encouraged to buy the computers through a districtwide lease/purchase arrangement with a handpicked computer company.
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Despite the difference in semantics, the swift outcry from District 230 residents illustrates that parents in this southwest suburban area might not be ready for the corporate-driven laptop revolution that is sweeping the nation. Pushed by computer giants such as Dell, Microsoft and Toshiba, hundreds of school districts across the country, including Zion-Benton Township High School in Lake County, are signing agreements whereby students, teachers and classrooms receive laptop computers at discounted rates. In return, the computer giants get access to youngsters who are just beginning to develop buying habits and brand loyalty.
Proponents say arming youngsters with laptops will revolutionize learning by putting teaching tools a fingertip away from each student. Toting computers, they say, gives students freedom to access the school library, perform at-home work on database-driven math equations or create geography reports rich in color and sound at anytime and in any place. Ultimately, proponents hope laptops will double as the family’s home computer.
So far, most of the laptop arrangements have not required students to buy the costly mini computers–federal or state grants and school districts have footed the bill. But opponents say any proposal that does is fraught with problems: Some parents cannot afford laptops, school districts would incur maintenance costs and teachers would need extensive training.
So, while a handful of universities and hundreds of elementary and high schools have joined the laptop wave, the idea seems too expensive and premature for the majority of the nation’s schools, many of which are just now finding their way onto the information highway.
“I can’t imagine a public school asking parents to buy computers unless it is really a ritzy area. You can’t create a situation with the haves and the have-nots,” said Peter Appert, an investment analyst with BT Alex. Brown Inc. in San Francisco that focuses on business opportunities in education. “But there is a fundamental shift in the responsibility for providing education of your child from the state to the individual. And for-profit companies are finding niche markets that are underserved. The bottom line is, it’s a huge market.”
In District 230, the lease/purchase arrangement between parents and a computer maker could involve more than 1,700 incoming freshmen and would mean millions for the company that wins the computer contract. If the school board approved the idea, the deal would create one of the largest public-private laptop experiments in Illinois elementary or secondary education.
Walery said public school districts cannot require students to buy laptops, but they can strongly encourage it by dangling the possibility of federal grant money and creative financing for needy parents. That’s what happened at Zion-Benton Township High School, where educators landed a grant to help fund a Microsoft Corp.-Toshiba Corp. program called “Anytime Anywhere Learning” that provided dozens of laptops and teacher training at discounted rates.
The program was so successful, Zion-Benton administrators are developing an experimental school within a high school program where up to 90 students will buy laptop computers and use them during every class, said Supt. Gary M. Fields.
“There is no doubt that there has to be a very strong family commitment to purchasing the technology,” Fields said. “But as we have seen so far, the commitment pays off.”
Fields said the laptop program has improved grades, attendance and attitude for a test group of poor performers. “Even though there is not a lot of research to show technology can improve test scores, there is no question it improves student motivation,” Fields said.
Still, most experts agree laptops will not become popular in schools until costs come down–way down.
“That’s a pretty big ticket item for school supplies,” said Susan Gonzo, associate provost at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which considered requiring computers but never did, citing concerns over the financial impact on students.
But Walery said personal computers for each student may be on the way–whether parents are ready or not. “Ten to 15 years down the road, laptop computers will be the thing you need to work in school,” he said.
Lao isn’t so convinced.
“For one child to have his own laptop is too business-like,” said the Tinley Park computer analyst. “And if you have more than one kid, it is expensive.”