State Laptop Program Progresses in Maine Amid Tight Budgets

Despite school budget shortfalls, about half the high schools in Maine have opted to move forward this fall in helping the state expand a program to put a laptop computer in the hands of every student, while the other half explore ways to provide students with an economically viable technological alternative.

In 2002, under the leadership of then-Gov. Angus King, Maine became the first state to launch a one-to-one laptop program, called the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, or MLTI, designed to equip every 7th and 8th grader with one of the portable computers. Now state education leaders are applying the lessons they’ve learned from that program to expand the opportunity to high school students across Maine.

“I think we have a far greater understanding as to when technology can really impact positively what happens in the classroom,” said Jeff Mao, the learning-technology policy director for the Maine Department of Education. “As we hit the high schools,...