In the January/February issue of the AALF newsletter One-to-One, AALF President Bruce Dixon writes, "For most, it is the reality that very soon, many children will have their own personal portable computer; and this in itself could be called extraordinary. But is it?"

23 January 2007: After a recent site visit to the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA, I walked away once again energized by the power of laptops in students' hands. However, this site visit was different.

27 September 2006: Recently, India opted out of the One Laptop Per Child project, instead setting a goal of creating a $10 laptop for use in India. The Times of India today printed dualing editorials about laptops in schools. The pro-argument mentioned many of the known benefits of one-to-one computing, while the con-argument argued about the priorities in funding various educational needs.

What are the priorities in educational funding? How can a scarce resource like education funding be equitably distributed amongst various priorities? A bigger question - WHY must educational funding be a scarce resource, when it represents such a huge investment in a country's future potential? Members in India especially, speak up and let us know what you think.

21 September 2006: Yesterday, the states of Pennsylvania and Illinois both announced major school laptop investments. These investments in multi-year projects enabling laptops in schools across Pennsylvania and Illinois continue large-scale investment in programs enabling anytime anywhere learning for students.

So why has recent press coverage been so negative? Why does The Wall Street Journal report that schools are saying “no” to laptops when the opposite is the case?

In February 2006, Nicholas Negroponte of the MIT Media Lab and full-time advocate for the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) campaign, said, "On December 12th [2005], ...a company called Quanta agreed to build [the $100 laptop], and since they make about one-third of all the laptops on the planet today, [the question about the reality of the venture] disappeared. So, it's not a matter of whether it's going to happen, it is going to happen."

Since it seems to be a matter of time before the $100 laptop, now named 2b1: The Children's Machine, makes its mark, how can educators in developing countries prepare?

8 March: NBC News featured this issue: should students have acess to Internet resources when undertaking a test? One of our AALF Board Members, Barbara Grohe, Superintendent of Kent School District, whose schools are featured in this story is also quoted. This is a great issue to discuss.

• Should students be allowed to use the Internet to answer homework questions?



• Should students be allowed to use the Internet to answer test questions?
  


• What might be the consequences?