Woods?
A6 Saturday/Sunday, August 13-14, 2016, Bangor Daily News
Laptops Continued from Page A1 Mike Muir, policy director of the Department of Education’s Learning Through Technology Team, which oversees the MLTI program, said during an interview Friday that the program’s future has been under review but that no major changes are imminent. “There was a time when one of the conclusions being considered seriously was ending, but a decision had not been made,” Muir said. “That led to conversations about focusing on learning and asking questions about what else is possible in the program.” On July 19, Muir emailed public school technology personnel throughout the state to notify them that negotiations related to an annual renewal of a contract with Apple Corp. had passed their traditional ending date but were ongoing. At the time, he urged “quiet patience” be-
cause a public debate about the process had the potential to hinder negotiations. That renewal has since been signed. Deputy Education Commissioner Bill Beardsley said Friday that he and LePage want to ensure that Maine receives a good return on the approximately $11.5 million annual cost in the form of improved student achievement. “It’s a good time to regroup and think this through,” he said. “What’s in our best interest as a state? What’s the correct age group? Should we still be doing the concept of what Angus came up with or should we come up with a new concept that would be more appropriate now that our schools and everybody has a greater understanding of technology?” Beardsley said an update to the state’s contract with Apple was signed in recent weeks. He called it a good deal for Maine because, among other reasons, it allowed some computers to be upgraded a year early without new costs to the state.
That’s because Apple accepted old machines back, which defrayed costs. LePage spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett wrote in response to questions from the BDN that LePage has long been concerned that the program’s value has diminished when weighed against its annual cost and Maine’s flat student test scores in math and reading. “Since its inception, the laptop program and the participating schools have focused too much on the devices (which devices schools will get, for what price, etc.) and not enough on how they are used and the student outcomes,” Bennett wrote. “The governor thinks this has been flawed from the start and that the focus needs to shift.” Bennett said LePage wants more training for teachers in how to maximize the benefits of technology in classrooms and to possibly shift statefunded devices to lower grades with the goal of having students reach reading proficiency by the third grade.
Where in the
Woods?
Trail Identification Contest!
Aislinn Sarnacki Bangor Daily News reporter for Outdoors
Online,visit:
actoutwithaislinn.bangordailynews.com
Guess where Aislinn took her latest hike, submit your guess by 9 a.m., Tuesday, for a chance to win an L.L. Bean Gift Card!
Prize
50
$
LLBean Gift Card!
Goodluck!
Sponsored by
FAMILY OF DEALERSHIPS 465 Western (888)Avenue, 292-7751Augusta
Muir and Beardsley said changes are likely in the next one to two years and that the department hopes to hand the next governor and his or her administration a blueprint of how to continue revamping the program into the future. “We’ve got to stand back and have a broad discussion among educators, not to give up on MLTI at all but to shift resources,” Beardsley said. “We’re going to spend a year really trying to see what’s next.” Muir said a common misconception about MLTI is that it is just about putting computers in students’ hands when in fact the program is also supposed to provide training for educators and wireless internet access for schools. He said there is room for major improvement on both those fronts. “The intent of MLTI was always to be a learning initiative,” Muir said. “The governor is encouraging us to get away from the notion that it’s just about devices. … Our big shift right now is let’s make this about teacher practice and impacting kids.”
PERC Continued from Page A1
ates energy and other products from organic waste and stands to be affected if the Hampden plant is built. Fiberight CEO Craig Stuart-Paul praised the issuance of the permits last month. “This puts us one step further to realizing the type of waste diversion and recycling experienced in hundreds of advanced waste processing plants in Europe, a solution that the U.S. has been slow to adopt,” StuartPaul said. “Maine has long held a special respect for its environment, and the State is leading the way in environmentally beneficial solid waste management with its approval of our permits.” Fiberight anticipates that it will complete the engineering and financing for the project later this summer, with construction and commissioning running through 2017. DEP has 40 days to respond to the petition, with legal briefs to follow, PERC officials said.
ings, according to the petition. The DEP relied “too heavily on inconsistent and incomplete information from the applicants. Maine people who care about the environment should be deeply concerned, as should those communities that have committed to send their trash to Fiberight after 2018,” said Robert Knudsen, vice president of USA Energy Group, in a statement released Friday. USA Energy is the majority owner and managing general partner of PERC’s waste-to-energy facility serving communities in eastern, northern, central and midcoast Maine. The facility receives, processes and incinerates municipal waste, turning it into renewable electricity and dramatically reducing the volume of waste that needs to go to a landfill, company officials BDN writer Nok-Noi Ricker have said. Exeter Agri-Energy cre- contributed to this report.
Laptops Continued from Page A1 Mike Muir, policy director of the Department of Education’s Learning Through Technology Team, which oversees the MLTI program, said during an interview Friday that the program’s future has been under review but that no major changes are imminent. “There was a time when one of the conclusions being considered seriously was ending, but a decision had not been made,” Muir said. “That led to conversations about focusing on learning and asking questions about what else is possible in the program.” On July 19, Muir emailed public school technology personnel throughout the state to notify them that negotiations related to an annual renewal of a contract with Apple Corp. had passed their traditional ending date but were ongoing. At the time, he urged “quiet patience” be-
cause a public debate about the process had the potential to hinder negotiations. That renewal has since been signed. Deputy Education Commissioner Bill Beardsley said Friday that he and LePage want to ensure that Maine receives a good return on the approximately $11.5 million annual cost in the form of improved student achievement. “It’s a good time to regroup and think this through,” he said. “What’s in our best interest as a state? What’s the correct age group? Should we still be doing the concept of what Angus came up with or should we come up with a new concept that would be more appropriate now that our schools and everybody has a greater understanding of technology?” Beardsley said an update to the state’s contract with Apple was signed in recent weeks. He called it a good deal for Maine because, among other reasons, it allowed some computers to be upgraded a year early without new costs to the state.
That’s because Apple accepted old machines back, which defrayed costs. LePage spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett wrote in response to questions from the BDN that LePage has long been concerned that the program’s value has diminished when weighed against its annual cost and Maine’s flat student test scores in math and reading. “Since its inception, the laptop program and the participating schools have focused too much on the devices (which devices schools will get, for what price, etc.) and not enough on how they are used and the student outcomes,” Bennett wrote. “The governor thinks this has been flawed from the start and that the focus needs to shift.” Bennett said LePage wants more training for teachers in how to maximize the benefits of technology in classrooms and to possibly shift statefunded devices to lower grades with the goal of having students reach reading proficiency by the third grade.
Where in the
Woods?
Trail Identification Contest!
Aislinn Sarnacki Bangor Daily News reporter for Outdoors
Online,visit:
actoutwithaislinn.bangordailynews.com
Guess where Aislinn took her latest hike, submit your guess by 9 a.m., Tuesday, for a chance to win an L.L. Bean Gift Card!
Prize
50
$
LLBean Gift Card!
Goodluck!
Sponsored by
FAMILY OF DEALERSHIPS 465 Western (888)Avenue, 292-7751Augusta
Muir and Beardsley said changes are likely in the next one to two years and that the department hopes to hand the next governor and his or her administration a blueprint of how to continue revamping the program into the future. “We’ve got to stand back and have a broad discussion among educators, not to give up on MLTI at all but to shift resources,” Beardsley said. “We’re going to spend a year really trying to see what’s next.” Muir said a common misconception about MLTI is that it is just about putting computers in students’ hands when in fact the program is also supposed to provide training for educators and wireless internet access for schools. He said there is room for major improvement on both those fronts. “The intent of MLTI was always to be a learning initiative,” Muir said. “The governor is encouraging us to get away from the notion that it’s just about devices. … Our big shift right now is let’s make this about teacher practice and impacting kids.”
PERC Continued from Page A1
ates energy and other products from organic waste and stands to be affected if the Hampden plant is built. Fiberight CEO Craig Stuart-Paul praised the issuance of the permits last month. “This puts us one step further to realizing the type of waste diversion and recycling experienced in hundreds of advanced waste processing plants in Europe, a solution that the U.S. has been slow to adopt,” StuartPaul said. “Maine has long held a special respect for its environment, and the State is leading the way in environmentally beneficial solid waste management with its approval of our permits.” Fiberight anticipates that it will complete the engineering and financing for the project later this summer, with construction and commissioning running through 2017. DEP has 40 days to respond to the petition, with legal briefs to follow, PERC officials said.
ings, according to the petition. The DEP relied “too heavily on inconsistent and incomplete information from the applicants. Maine people who care about the environment should be deeply concerned, as should those communities that have committed to send their trash to Fiberight after 2018,” said Robert Knudsen, vice president of USA Energy Group, in a statement released Friday. USA Energy is the majority owner and managing general partner of PERC’s waste-to-energy facility serving communities in eastern, northern, central and midcoast Maine. The facility receives, processes and incinerates municipal waste, turning it into renewable electricity and dramatically reducing the volume of waste that needs to go to a landfill, company officials BDN writer Nok-Noi Ricker have said. Exeter Agri-Energy cre- contributed to this report.
