Plaid Laptop Policy

Plaid's apparently has a policy to give every schoolchild a laptop.

Except that, uh, it doesn't. It's for every child in Year 7, meaning it would take 6 years to implement. That's longer than the lifespan of an Assembly term, so it is a promise that can't be delivered.

In any case, does it make sense? The real issues are a shortage of relevant content, in both languages, for children to access; inadequate training in the use of technology that already exists in schools; and lack of encouragement to get young people to use IT suites in libraries, community organisations and youth clubs.

Also, having a laptop is one thing - but who would pay the connection charges for broadband access which could make the laptop a meaningful tool?

Computers can make a huge difference to young people's learning - and there is some good content available, notably on the BBC's sites. But learning offline with laptops would depend on offline software being available.

Clearly, if every home had a computer with web access that would give more opportunity for a wider range of young people to have them. But other campaigns focus for good reasons on ensuring that young children particularly use computers in family spaces, not hidden away isolated in their own rooms. So this seems to be a half-baked policy.

But if you want to buy a Plaid laptop-cover, look here.