Dunn: Netbook program not working

OXFORD — The district should consider new technology upgrades and adopt the state's MLTI program for the high school, according to Mike Dunn, the district's technology director.

Dunn gave an update of the district's technology during a presentation to the SAD 17 Board of Directors Tuesday.

The district has made progress, including improving Internet speed, connecting more buildings for wireless and bringing iPads into elementary and high school classrooms.

Other areas still presented challenges, Dunn said.

In particular, the high school 1:1 netbook program has not met expectations, Dunn said.

Four years ago, the state gave high schools the option to join an expansion of its Maine Learning Technology Initiative, which provides laptops to middle school students.

SAD 17 was one of 18 school districts in the state that decided not to accept MLTI and instead create a less expensive custom netbook program.

Although the move saved the district around $600,000, it has not helped in terms of learning and instruction, Dunn said.

Fewer students have accepted the netbook option each year since the program started, Dunn explained. As a consequence, most teachers aren't requiring laptops for classwork.

Many teachers wanted to be able to use the laptops more, but could not anticipate what technology students would have, Dunn said.

Dunn said staff and students thought the netbook was inferior to the MLTI laptop and older students tended to have superior technology like smartphones and newer laptops.

For lower income families, the substantial cost of repairing damage to the netbook made joining the program a risk, Dunn said.

In general, the program hadn't been a success, he told the board.

"My feeling is, we've lost four years of the saturation that's required to implement a successful 1:1 program," Dunn said.

He suggested the district consider accepting the state's next MLTI offer for the high school, but warned it could come with a big price tag – the state reserved most of the funding it provided to schools to maintain the program.

The district also faces other technology challenges, Dunn said.

School computer labs are using machines bought used six years ago, which is becoming expensive to maintain, he reported.

In addition, old infrastructure in some buildings has difficulty handling high-speed Internet; the district is facing increasing security pressures and by 2016, the district's software will be too old to run required assessment programs, Dunn told the board. 

To address the challenges, Dunn said he'd like to create a unified network for the district, upgrade school hardware and add staff and hours to the tech department.

Dunn's report met with questions from school board members.

Don Ware questioned why the district should invest in the program if teachers weren't requiring laptops for class.

Teachers wanted to use the laptops, Dunn replied, but without universal acceptance, it made it difficult to integrate the tools into daily instruction.

Jared Cash suggested that the district could save money on textbooks and materials in the long run by adopting high school MLTI.

Curriculum Director Kathy Elkins said district officials had talked about the issue, but it seemed there was no clear answer.

Board Member Joe Vaillancourt said that, although the budget had been tight for the past few years, the district needed to think about how to invest in its technology.

"It seems that your people spend a lot of time putting patches on patches," he told Dunn.