Recently, the news broke that the eLearning² initiative, a Edina Public Schools program which has allowed students in Edina to purchase technology for the classroom at a discounted price, is expanding to the elementary and high schools. This will allow students from fifth to twelfth grade to get in on the action. The expansion was voted on unanimously by the school board and will come into effect in the 2014- 2015 school year. Although I have shown disdain towards the initiative in the past, I think that it will actually be a very positive thing for the school system.

Last year, when eLearning² was introduced to South View Middle School and Valley View Middle School, I thought that the idea of giving out computers to middle schoolers, and encouraging them to use them during class was absurd. I wasn’t alone in that opinion, as a lot of my friends and quite a few of my teachers had a bone to pick with eLearning². They thought that it was increasing our reliance on technology, or that it didn’t extend to teachers. I was still convinced that it was a bad thing when the first shipment of Chromebooks and tablets came in. I didn’t see any increase in learning, but instead I saw students everywhere playing video games, checking social media, and taking selfies all day long. Sure, every once in a while a student got a chance to Google a fact or collaborate on a project, but mostly it was just doing something other than learning during class.

What really changed my mind about the whole program was when I got a computer of my own.

Suddenly, school projects and research had became a whole lot easier. I got my homework done earlier since I didn’t have to wait around for my brothers and parents to get off the home computer. I also started recreationally writing every night, which is something I hadn’t been able to get into before I had a personal computer. And, if all these changes happened to me, a student from a family that already had plenty of technology, imagine how a less affluent student’s academic life would be changed.

As for the problem of students being more distracted than engaged because of their device, the school system is taking steps to make sure students are educated about how to use their technology responsibly. They are doing this by educating the first wave of elementary school children on how to properly use their computers. I’m not saying that this means that there won’t be any fifth graders using their devices for something other than furthering their education, but with training on how to use their devices for educational purposes, I believe the pros will outweigh the cons.

As for the middle school and high school students using their devices to check Facebook or play games during class, I realized that they were doing that even before the initiative with smartphones hidden under desks. The difference is that, along with playing games, they now have the option to take electronic notes, or study with online flashcards when they see that the material being taught really matters.