HP Launches 7,000 Mini Laptops in Fresno Schools

Last week at the 2008 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), HP announced that they would be deploying 7,000 of their HP Mini Note laptops in the Fresno Unified School District.

This is part of a growing trend, kicked off with the introduction of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, of personal computer companies providing more students with access to computers and the vast array of resources on the web.

In addition to providing students with affordable technology, the program also includes free online professional development courses to help educators learn how to effectively integrate technology into their curriculum.

This is a smart move by HP. So many vendor's throw technology at teachers without any support or professional development resources or handouts. When I was working on the Yahoo! Teachers project we made a conscious effort to provide relevant, easy-to-follow and just in time professional development materials for educators and they really appreciated that we went the extra step to provide those materials.

Related Resources

• HP K-12 Technology for Teaching Grants
• eSchool News > HP unveils Student Laptops
• Maine Laptop Initiative
• Dell TechKnow
• NECC 2008: Social Media & Education