Henrico County chooses Dell over Apple for one-to-one initiative.

One of the leading education proponents of one-to-one computing is changing brands. Henrico County Public Schools has contracted with Dell computers to provide a laptop to every teacher and student in sixth through 12th grade beginning this fall.

Henrico began its one-to-one initiative four years ago with Apple computers, distributing iBooks to students and teachers. Despite satisfaction with Apple, Henrico County's purchasing committee signed with Dell after the Apple contract expired because "Dell had a much better offer," says Lloyd Brown, district technology director. Apple representatives could not be reached for comment on the district's switch.

Apple bounced back by winning the "Power to Learn" contract with Cobb County School District in Georgia, proposed to be the largest one-to-one learning initiative in the U.S.

Costing $17.9 million for a four-year program, the Dell one-to one initiative will provide 15,800 notebooks to teachers and students in addition to creating the Dell Intelligent Classroom through a collaborative partnership with Henrico County.

The Intelligent Classroom helps kids take what they have learned with technology and push it to the next level, says Kathy Thomas, manager of education strategies at Dell. The Intelligent Classroom includes projectors, plasma televisions and audio systems. The contract also offers training for teachers and technical services.

Brown adds, "Our goal is to prepare students for the 21st century ... this [laptop] is another tool for our teachers to use to help information be at the fingertips of the students."