Perk for teachers: their very own laptops. (News connection: up-to-date and usable education information from schools, government, business, research and professional organizations).

You'll find education leaders who think it's a good idea to give laptops to students. What about giving them to teachers? That was the question Michigan's Gov. John Engler asked in early 2000. If outfitted with their own laptops, even the most technophobic teachers would become more comfortable; most would push themselves to learn more about technology; and certainly all could increase use of such basic activities as e-mailing messages to parents.

The governor's idea has become the Teacher Technology Initiative, a program that is part of the Michigan Virtual University. After a year of organizing, the state put the laptop program in place this year. To date, 90,000 K-12 full-time public school teachers have been given laptops to use at school and home. The cost of the program: $110 million. The average expense allotted for each computer is $1,200. Schools and districts could select models from five approved vendors: Apple, Compaq, Dell, Gateway or IBM. Michigan Virtual University expects to have completed the laptop to teachers program by the end of this year.

In order to receive the free laptop, though, every teacher had to go through an online assessment of technology skills. To date, virtually all the K-12 public school teachers have answered a series of 32 questions. Teachers were asked to rank their computer abilities and to assess their comfort level completing various tasks. A typical question might be: How comfortable are you with using a word processing program to create a classroom newsletter?

Those who scored low in the self-assessment were offered technology training to help them qualify for the program.

All teachers given laptops have agreed to take a follow-up assessment to gauge progress.

"We know that $1,200 doesn't buy the Cadillac laptop model," says Jamey Fitzpatrick, the vice president of development and education policy for Michigan Virtual University. "It did get them good solid models." Fitzpatrick and his associates negotiated discount prices from the five vendors that are part of the program. These laptop vendors have agreed to sell software and peripheral equipment at a discount to the districts participating in the program.

"We don't expect the state to buy teachers laptops every three years," adds Fitzpatrick. "This was a way to prime the pump." With laptops at their fingertips, Fitzpatrick is hoping teachers will get excited about using computers and Internet access for professional development, and that they will want to continue to have laptops for professional and personal use.

In order to make the program work, Fitzpatrick had to iron out one snag regarding the official ownership of the laptops. If teachers were given the models outright, they would have had to declare them as income. This certainly would have been a disincentive. Instead, the school districts became the official owners, signing out the laptops to the teachers.

So far, teachers and parents are happy with the program, says Fitzpatrick. "Parents are saying they are reaching teachers with ease," he notes. Some teachers, such as Aaron Nitz, a fifth-grade instructor in Warren, Mich., say the laptop has been a huge help. "Having teachers that are knowledgeable about computers in general will be crucial for student learning," he told the press.

Michigan Virtual University's next step will be creating a similar program for students. "I think the future will be mobile computing," says Fitzpatrick. The future Michigan student may be equipped with a handheld device or a laptop of his or her own, he notes.

Jean Marie Angelo Up-to-date and usable education information from schools, government, business, research and professional organizations