Executive Summary

It is the core premise of this paper that the emergence of a single global communications network, composed of Internet, mobile, SMS, cable and satellite technology, is rapidly tying the world’s people together, in one of the seminal events of the early 21st century.  Increasingly, the world’s commerce, finance, communications, media and information are flowing through this network.  Half of the world’s 6 billion people are now connected to this network, many through powerful and inexpensive mobile phones.  Each year more of the world’s people become connected to the network, its bandwidth increases, and its use becomes more integrated into all that we do.   

Connectivity to this network, and the ability to master it once on, has become an essential part of life in the 21st century, and a key to opportunity, success and fulfillment for the people of the world.   

We believe it should be a core priority of the United States to ensure that all the world’s people have access to this global network and have the tools to use it for their own life success. There is no way any longer to imagine free societies without the freedom of commerce, expression, and community, which this global network can bring.  Bringing this network to all, keeping it free and open and helping people master its use must be one of the highest priorities of those in power in the coming years.    

This paper offers thoughts on one piece of this commitment – how we best bring the power of this network to America’s schoolchildren.  Achieving the American Dream in this century increasingly requires fluency in the ways of this network and its tools – how to acquire information and do research, how to construct reports and present ideas using these new tools, how to type and even edit video.  We believe we need a profound and urgent national commitment to give this powerful new 21st knowledge, essential for success in this century, to all American school children.    

We believe that America needs to put a laptop in every backpack of every child.  We need to commit to a date and grade certain: we suggest 2010 for every sixth grader.  These laptops need to be wirelessly connected to the Internet, and children need to be able to take them home.  Local school districts should choose how best to do this, but there needs to be federal funding and simple, federal standards.  Funds and strategies for how training our teachers to lead this transformation need to be part this commitment.    

We believe it will cost at first $2 billion a year to provide every 6th grader a laptop, about what we spend in Iraq every week. Hardware costs continue to plummet each year, and the idea of a $200 laptop or classmate PC is coming ever closer to reality.  It is not a question of resources, but of vision and political will.  Libya has just announced a national commitment to give all its school children a laptop.  If Libya can do it, so can America.    

Giving our children the tools for computer literacy is the 21st century equivalent to teaching them how to read.  In the “flat world” described by Tom Friedman, there can be no life success without it this knowledge, no real chance to seize the American Dream, no secure and prosperous road to the middle class.  We believe giving every school child a laptop must be an essential part of any strategy to ensure broad-based prosperity for America in the 21st century.    

So, let’s look at what it might require to put a laptop in every backpack.    

Current Conditions  

The starting point for participation in today’s global communications network is to own a computer and have Internet access.  According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project and Intel Corporation, there are still 30 million American households that do not have a computer [1].  This gap in access has become progressively more troubling as technology has progressed from a tool that provides a competitive advantage to a baseline need for social, civic, economic and educational participation.  Students in the 21st century must be equipped with the skills and tools to succeed and participate in our increasingly technology-rich, knowledge-based economy.  For school-age children, the consequences of not being a part of the digital age are daunting. Technology has become increasingly important for academic success, as computer and high-speed Internet access are shown to raise students’ test-taking aptitude and provide a superior resource for homework help, school research and information gathering.   

The irony of this situation is that in the 1990s, the United States held the position of world leader in pioneering technology applications and the Internet.  Our innovation had a profound impact on our and the world’s economic and educational growth.  For example, within the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the E-Rate program was created which ensured that all schools, rural or urban, rich or poor, have affordable Internet access.  According to the American Youth Policy Forum, today 98% of American schools have access to the Internet because of the E-Rate program [2].  In addition, investments by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the 1990s allowed for the near ubiquity of Internet access (98.9%) in public libraries around the country [3].  

Despite our early lead in developing technology applications and policies, in recent years we have lost our leadership position.  According to the International Telecommunication Union, the United States has fallen to 15th in the world in broadband penetration rates [4].   

Innovation has shifted as education systems abroad have recognized the need for technology in education.  The lack of leadership demonstrated in the United States, juxtaposed with the advances that have taken place abroad, will put us in a less competitive position tomorrow.  

In addition to these issues of technology leadership, the U.S. is lagging behind because access to computers and the Internet in this country are still somewhat related to income and race.  A study from a May 2006 Report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that only 21% of people earning less than $30,000 a year have broadband access, whereas 68% of households earning $75,000 or more a year have access [5].  According to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2005, 63.9% of white households have a computer in their home and 57% have access to Internet. Only 44.6% of African-Americans have a computer in their house and only 36% had access to Internet. Among those of Hispanic origin, 44.3% have a computer in their household and 36% have access to Internet. Asian Americans fared better than any other racial group with 72.9% having a computer in their household and 66.7% having Internet access [6].  Those gaps are closing, but we need to close them faster.  

America must re-establish itself as a leader in preparing our children to participate in the global economy by ensuring that all public school children regardless of race, income or geography have access to the tools of the 21st century digital age.    

Outside experts estimate initial costs of $2 billion in the first year, which will enable every 6th grader in America to acquire a laptop. Once implemented, increased costs would be incremental rather than exponential and will rise over time, depending on the decisions of policymakers about how quickly and how broadly to scale implementation to additional grade levels. The constantly decreasing costs and increasing life-span of hardware will help mitigate cost increases and there are achievable economies of scale that can be reached depending on the choices of our policymakers.  

Computers in the Classroom  

To begin preparing all children for participation in today’s global communications network, we must ensure that there is a laptop in every 6th grader’s backpack to use in the classroom and at home. Not only is computer access a fundamental necessity to participate in today’s global communications network, it also significantly enhances academic performance and student achievement.  

The innovation of the Internet reduces the barriers of race, income and geography in America’s public school system.  Young people, whether they reside in geographically isolated rural communities or attend a failing inner city school, can have access to premiere educational resources with the click of a mouse.  That access provides a robust set of course options available online from foreign language to Advanced Placement classes.  

Further, more than 90% of students aged 12 to 17 use the Internet to find “better information” than the information found in schoolbooks [9].  This is particularly useful in under-performing schools where resources may not be available and textbooks are often out-of-date.  

Computers at Home  

Evidence supports that students should have the opportunity to take home a computer in the same way they would a textbook.  Providing a laptop for every schoolchild creates equality between those who have computers at home, and those who don’t.     

The ability to take a computer home is critically important.  For example, students report that their daily use of the Internet drastically differs from in-school Internet use.  According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Internet and computer reliance to complete homework assignments takes place primarily “outside of the school day, outside of the school building, outside of the direction of [students’] teachers” [10].  By providing students with access to a laptop, students can go online at any time and in any location to access tutoring and homework help.    

Why Now  

In today’s 21st century global communications network, it is no longer just a competitive advantage for schoolchildren to have access to a computer.  It is now a prerequisite for children to have this access both inside and outside of the classroom.    

The fat envelopes that used to be stuffed in the mail by college applicants every year no longer exist.  Today’s high school seniors apply online and upload digital files of their grades, essays, and recommendations to the university’s network  

Furthermore, according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in professional, scientific, and technical services will increase by 28.4% and add 1.9 million new jobs by 2014. Employment in computer systems design and related services will increase by 39.5% and account for almost one-fourth of the 1.9 million new jobs created in professional, scientific, and technical services.  Additionally, management, scientific, and technical consulting services also will grow by 60.5%, prompted by the increased use of new technology and computer software [12]. 

Success Stories  

Beginning in Boston, Massachusetts in the 1990s, and followed soon after with other technology initiatives, urban and rural communities across the country began reporting a widespread increase in positive academic outcomes through the use of technology.    

Boston, MA  

In 1998, Boston became the first major urban school district to build high-speed technology networks in each of its school buildings and public libraries. In addition to the district’s network construction, Boston developed the Technology Goes Home initiative, providing access, training, and curriculum through public schools.  Boston schools also offered student graduates and their family’s new computers, printers and Internet access for less than $15 per month. The cumulative result of these programs was a 15% increase in the number of graduates attending college from the previous district average of 65% to 80% [14].  

Henrico County, VA  

Henrico County, Virginia has one of the largest "one-to-one computing" initiatives of any school district in the U.S.  In one survey 97% of mathematics and science teachers reported that the computers have helped students to learn these challenging subjects, and 59% report that the laptops have helped "a lot" or "a great deal.”  In addition, more than 80% of students reported that it is "helpful" or "very helpful" to have a computer to use for their schoolwork. These reports were corroborated when state standardized test scores increased and dropout rates decreased [15]. 

Maine  

In Maine, where the Department of Education has equipped all the state’s 7th and 8th grade students and teachers with access to wireless internet-enabled laptop computers for the past 4 years, students are completing more homework and misbehaving less than in previous years.  Moreover, there is improved student interaction with teachers, particularly among at-risk and low-achieving students, and improved class participation and student motivation.  In addition, more than 75% of teachers reported that having the laptops helped them better meet Maine’s statewide learning standards [16]. 

Greene County, NC: A Model Success Story  

Perhaps most striking is the example of Greene County, a small rural county in eastern North Carolina.  Predominantly agrarian, Greene County has been ranked as the county most dependent on tobacco production in North Carolina, and the second most tobacco dependent county in the United States.  Generations of Greene County farmers have harvested and sold flue-cured tobacco.   

In recent years, the tobacco industry has seen a significant decline in its popularity and prosperity.  Domestic tobacco sales plunged from $47.7 billion in 1990 to only $18.9 billion in 2000, and the numbers continue to plummet.  As the demand for tobacco has fallen, the number of unemployed agricultural workers has risen.  Today, 70% of Greene County’s K-12 school children receive free or reduced-price lunches.   

The economy in rural North Carolina is changing and workers must adapt to a new economic order.  A 1999 survey showed that an unprecedented 30% of North Carolina farmers expected to give up tobacco farming in their lifetime, and 68% were interested in expanding to other enterprises.    

Despite the unambiguous case for ensuring every American schoolchild has a computer, it remains increasingly likely that unless a national initiative is put into place, millions of students, most likely inner-city minorities and low-income residents of rural communities, will remain isolated from technology and its inherent benefits.    

It is essential that our children be provided with access to the tools that are necessary to navigate and participate in the global communications network.  Without deep fluency in the new tools offered to them through this startling information revolution, our children will be at a competitive disadvantage and their opportunity for life success will be diminished.  America’s policymakers must ensure that no matter where people live public school children have the skills necessary to be active participants in the emerging society of the 21st century.    

We can start this process by committing, together, to put on a laptop in every backpack of every American school child.    

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Alec Ross is the Executive Vice President for External Affairs and a co-founder of One Economy, a multinational nonprofit organization that works to maximize the potential of technology to help low-income people enter the economic mainstream.  

Simon Rosenberg is the President and Founder of NDN, a progressive think tank and advocacy organization committed to meeting the governing challenges of the 21st century.  For more check out the NDN blog.