High school students in 32 Idaho districts will get laptops next year . Tuesday Idaho’s Department of Education announced the first round of districts to get one computer per student. Idaho’s two largest districts, Meridian and Boise were chosen and so were seven other Treasure Valley districts. The computers are mandated by the state’s Students Come First laws.
There’s a lot of different opinions about those laws. Shane Schamber says that’s certainly true in Caldwell’s Vallivue District. But the district’s technology director says even people who don’t like other provisions, such as restrictions on collective bargaining, are excited to be one of the first places where all high schoolers will have laptops. Vallivue is not in a wealthy area and Schamber says many students don’t have access to computers at home.
“We’re going to have to do a lot of parent instruction as well," he says. "So that they know how students can best utilize those at school and at home.”
Shamber says the big increase in equipment will make his job more difficult. But he says he has plenty of time yet to get ready for the student laptops in 2013. Teachers however, get new computers this fall and Schamber is a little nervous. That’s because the state hasn’t decided what kind of computers they’ll be.