Seven weeks into a laptop lending program, even skeptics are wowed by student work. One self-described “technology immigrant” praises a student response to an assignment to write an ode. The class began the project with a discussion of Pablo Neruda’s Ode to an Artichoke, and the teacher correctly guessed the laptops would be useful for researching a food that few students were familiar with. What she hadn’t expected was that one student would enthusiastically set the ode to music and submit it via email.

Susan Washburn, who teaches statistics, now asks students to create graphs, chart calculations and analyze information as she speaks to the class. Before, explains Washburn, “It was me and the overhead and different colored markers — whoopee. I bored myself sometimes.”

Testimonials of engaged students abound. Many cautiously attribute the success to novelty, but they also observe that students value the tools greatly. Few in this district have access to a computer at home.

Early concerns about the security of students carrying laptops led to several systems to protect computers and kids. Thus far, the school district has issued lost or stolen reports for nine laptops out of approximately 5,500. Four were recovered. A sixth laptop was destroyed in a house fire. Three machines are still missing. The district destroyed one hard drive remotely. The others are with runaway students, and they hope the GPS devices on the laptop will help locate those students.

Source : Kansas City Star (www.kansascity.com), “Laptop Lending Program Exceeds Expectations In KCK.” December 31, 2007.