Maine laptop program offers lessons in ed-tech implementation

"The leaders in your system, from the highest levels of government and departments of education all the way down into schools, are the drivers of change. If a principal doesn’t see the necessity for the change or doesn’t provide the pressure for the change, the change won’t occur. Just because you’ve introduced the technology doesn’t mean anyone will do anything significant with it, if the leaders aren’t applying the pressure to do that," he said.

Ed-tech director offers advice to other states, districts looking to mimic Maine’s success

Nine years after it became the first state in the nation to initiate a 1-to-1 laptop program in its schools, Maine continues to innovate with technology and has hired technology integrators to help its schools move forward. Jeff Mao, director of learning technology for the state’s education department, recently reflected on the groundbreaking program and its lessons learned with eSchool News.

"What we are doing [is] relatively bleeding edge. … There isn’t a book to read, there isn’t really a manual that says this is how you do it … but you are kind of creating it on the fly, and from that perspective there’s a lot of invention," said Mao.

By Jenna Zwang, Assistant Editor

Full Story: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/02/23/maine-laptop-program-offers-lessons-n-ed-tech-implementation/

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