Student laptops not just for homework

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- All Maine 7th and 8th graders, along with half of all high school students, have laptops to use to help with homework and research.  Now, you can add finding work from home to the list of chores these portable computers can do.

"Earlier this year, the governor - during his State of the State address - mentioned that he wanted to have more resources available to parents of students with these laptops, so that they could access employment, training, and education resources right from home," said Adam Fisher, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Labor.  "We have taken the resources that are available for the Career Center page, and with the help of the Department of Education, we have made it much more accessible to folks."

With 56,000 laptops in the hands of students, there are potentially thousands of people who can find employment resources from the comfort of their home.  An added bonus for parents, who may not be very skilled when it comes to navigating the internet, is they have helping hands in the form of their kids to find the resources they need.

"It is a great opportunity for the kids to be the teachers to the parents, which actually helps the students as well, because teaching others is always a great part of the learning process," said David Connerty-Marin, director of communication for the Department of Education.  "We already had the Department of Labor resources out there, we already had the laptops coming in and going out to the students, and so for literally no money and a few hours of staff time, we have been able to merge the two and be able to create a resource."

The program went on-line this fall and allows parents to access the offerings from the state's Career Centers once they log on to the internet.  "We have links to our job bank, which has hundreds of jobs available and it is a free service that you can register for or just browse.   We also have links for training and education resources that are specific to adult workers - anything from career exploration, to finding financial aid, to identifying schools that may provide the training that you need," stated Fisher.

You do not need a laptop to access the employment resources, but putting them on the laptops is an easy way for parents to find the information they need.  If you would like to access the same web page parents will find on the laptops, click here.