Arkansas’ Sheridan school district will be trying something different in order to get the most out of the three hour daily commute some of its students have to endure in order to get to classes. The Aspirnaut Initiative, a three-year trial, will bring laptops, wireless Internet access and iPods aboard Sheridan’s Bus 46, wherein the students will use iPods to listen to educational podcasts and “high ability” students will be provided laptops to go online and use web-based learning tools according to ars technica.
During this time, students may be able to receive course credits for time spent learning on the bus and at the end of the trial period, students who complete the program would be allowed to keep the iPods and laptops.
The program, which is funded by donations from Vanderbilt University (the idea is the brainchild of biochemist Bill Hudson) and fund-raising, will limit its efforts to Bus 46 and may have greater success than efforts to raise funds entirely through taxes and public funding, wherein a recent Michigan effort came under fire for its attempts to allocate US$38 million for a technology program wherein the highlights included providing an iPod for every student in the state. The effort was defeated during legislative debate and three lawmakers who had received a compensated research trip to Apple’s headquarters came under fire to pay back the air fare.
Still, if it works, this could be something cool and at least that much more productive than the buses we rode to school on so many years ago.
Arkansas’ Sheridan school district will be trying something different in order to get the most out of the three hour daily commute some of its students have to endure in order to get to classes. The Aspirnaut Initiative, a three-year trial, will bring laptops, wireless Internet access and iPods aboard Sheridan’s Bus 46, wherein the students will use iPods to listen to educational podcasts and “high ability” students will be provided laptops to go online and use web-based learning tools according to ars technica.
During this time, students may be able to receive course credits for time spent learning on the bus and at the end of the trial period, students who complete the program would be allowed to keep the iPods and laptops.
The program, which is funded by donations from Vanderbilt University (the idea is the brainchild of biochemist Bill Hudson) and fund-raising, will limit its efforts to Bus 46 and may have greater success than efforts to raise funds entirely through taxes and public funding, wherein a recent Michigan effort came under fire for its attempts to allocate US$38 million for a technology program wherein the highlights included providing an iPod for every student in the state. The effort was defeated during legislative debate and three lawmakers who had received a compensated research trip to Apple’s headquarters came under fire to pay back the air fare.
Still, if it works, this could be something cool and at least that much more productive than the buses we rode to school on so many years ago.