Dive Brief:
- West Virginia State Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano has set a goal to put a computer or tablet in the hands of all students grades 3-12 by the year 2020.
- According to eSchoolNews, 18 out of 55 West Virginia counties already have 1:1 “computing programs,” though some aren’t county-wide.
- Previously, the Learning 20/20 initiative brought more than 14,000 iPads to students in the state’s largest school system, Kanawha County.
Dive Insight:
Although larger districts have seen problems with 1:1 computer rollouts, ranging from student hacking to no-bid contract scandals, a larger issue might be the basic efficacy of tech in the classroom, with a recent report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development calling the efficacy of school tech implementation into question. As eSchool News reports, the study showed that students who moderately used tech fared better on standardized tests than those who used it frequently.
In West Virginia, Martirano suggests that the costs of getting devices for every student could be offset by reduced textbook purchasing. He also wants the business community to get behind his initiative, since the state lacks funding.
A recent study from the Consortium of Networked Schools found affordability to be the top barrier to the implementation of tech in U.S. classrooms. The Digital Learning Equity Act of 2015 would quantify the digital equity gap between students, and potentially help close it. Meanwhile, the FCC’s E-Rate program continues to seek applicants for its $9 billion dollars of federal funding, earmarked to help poor and rural schools update and stabilize their web connections.
