Luna: A Laptop For Every Freshman

“It’s nothing new for Idaho students to take online courses - it’s definitely not a radical idea,” state schools Supt. Tom Luna told lawmakers this morning in his budget hearing. He said he wants to require all 9th graders to take two online credits per year starting next fall, and expand that each year as those students move up. Also starting next fall, every 9th grader in public school in Idaho would be given a laptop computer. “This is the new textbook, the new research device, the connection to information and learning inside the classroom and out,” Luna said/ Betsy Russell , Eye On Boise. More here .

• Luna: Idaho could save $5.4M by changing formula, laying off teachers
• Price tag for Luna performance pay: $38M first year, $51.3 annually afterward
• Luna’s plan ‘for great teachers and leaders’: Restore pay cuts, add pay for performance
• Luna: Idaho must ‘harness the technology’ for education
• Luna outlines plans for larger class sizes, fewer teachers

Question: What do you think of Superintendent Tom Luna’s plan to equip high school freshmen with laptops & then require them to take two online credits next fall?