AUBURN — For the first time Auburn Middle School students took their laptops home this summer to keep their skills sharp and learn more about their computers, the School Committee was told Wednesday night.

The good news is that of the 217 students who took laptops home for 10 weeks, none of the laptops were significantly broken, and none were stolen, School Department technology integrator Carl Bucciantini said.

The bad news is, according to surveys, many parents did not monitor how their students used the laptops.

Bucciantini told the committee that “if you give them a laptop, they’re going to do something with it. They did.”

At the middle school Tuesday, eighth-grader Trevor Laliberte said he used his laptop to write music. Morgan Laferriere went on Facebook and compiled a PowerPoint presentation of her summer activities, her grandparents’ 50th anniversary, her cousin’s wedding, trips to the beach and the Fourth of July.

Ezra Thomas said for the first month he played video games, then became bored with that. He next used his laptop for photography of plant life pictures he shot on Monhegan Island. “I learned you don’t want to waste your summer on video games,” Thomas said.

Bucciantini told the committee he had a tough time getting feedback from parents; 75 families were called and invited to a barbecue to talk about the summer laptop experiment. Twenty agreed to attend. “Eight families showed up,” Bucciantini said.

After school started, 25 parents and 41 students filled out surveys asking how laptops were used. Answers showed that 56 percent of parents did set time and location limits, but 60 percent allowed their children to be on the Internet in the child’s bedroom.

When asked how their children used laptops, parents answered: math, artwork, music, Facebook, YouTube, Skype, email and game websites.

Students said they used laptops to do math, Facebook, Skype, explore applications, make movies, write stories and music and play video games.

Bucciantini called the summer laptop experiment a “resounding success.” He said he was pleased with how students took care of the laptops, and used them. “It was everything I thought it would be. It’s certainly something we need to continue.”

Several students made journals of what they did this summer; the journals were impressive work, he said.

Committee member Bonnie Hayes asked how many students made those kind of journals.

Bucciantini said he didn’t know. One student suggested that administrators go into the computers “and take a look at laptops and see where they’ve been,” he said.

“I agree,” Hayes said. “My concern is Facebook, Skype and the time that parents aren’t monitoring this.” Technology is fantastic, but she said she worries about trouble students can get into if parents don’t pay attention to where their children go online.

When the laptops go home, “it needs to be understood by parents that it’s their responsibility when it’s in their home to monitor this,” Hayes said.

Bucciantini agreed and said parents need to be educated that they have to parent, that they should insist on being “friended” on their child’s Facebook to look at what their children are up to. Tip sheets sent home recommended that, he said.

After the meeting Hayes said she’s concerned about where students are going online, “what they’re doing, who’s on with them. I think it’s uncontrolled and that parents aren’t aware of everything that’s out there.”

The committee has been informed about students disciplined or expelled because of inappropriate use of Skype, Hayes said. She’s concerned that ramifications from summer laptop use will surface, and “we’ll have to deal with this later this year.”