PARIS — In terms of the technology being used to educate our children, the state of Maine has traditionally followed its state motto: “I Lead,” and has a strong history of being at the forefront with new technology in education.

Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School students Duncan Hurd and Sebastian Brochu, both ninth-graders on the Aspire Higher Race Car Team, have used that technology and leadership over the past two years to create a website: www.aspirehigherracing.org, Facebook page, facilitate workshops at the MLTI State Conference and develop fundraising videos, which assisted in raising more than $30,000 to fund the race car program.

With technology being essential to the success of the race car program and also part of the learning experience for 100,000-plus middle school students across Maine, Sebastian and Duncan decided to research the initiative that began in 2002 and has revolutionized education, both throughout Maine and the country.

As students, they organized a Skype session and private interview with Senator Angus King to ask the essential questions: “How did the Maine Learning Technology Initiative begin? What has it accomplished? and Where will it be in 15 years?”

The first three questions were by Sebastian, who had joined the Aspire Higher Race Car program as an eighth-grader and is a member of the Engineering, Technology and Public Relations teams.

Sebastian: The MLTI program has been around for 15 or so years, what made you think of the idea of kicking off such an astonishing program?

Senator King: “It was a combination of years of thinking and discussing the concept with educational experts all around the country. In 1999 and 2000, Maine had an unexpected surplus, which, we don’t hear of anymore, but the economy was doing really well, and there was more money coming in that had been accounted for or expected.

“So, the question was, ‘What were we going to do with it?’ The decision I had to make as governor is whether to propose using it in all the usual places. A little more for school buildings, a little more for highways, a little more for, you know whatever’s, program. Or, to try to think of something that was, bigger, that would actually be transformative, that would actually change things.

“I remember what I said. My response was, ‘I wanted Maine to look and be different and at the same time, be a leader in education the next day.’ We focused in on the idea of one-to-one computing, and at the time, it was the biggest project in the world. The idea was to put the tools of the 21st century in your hands, and to open up opportunity to all the young people of Maine.

“Initially people were afraid that it was too big an idea, and it was too complicated. They said, ‘Well let’s just do a couple of pilot projects.’ I said, ‘No, if we do this, it’s going to be everywhere for everybody because I wanted this to be fair.’

“I wanted students in Oxford Hills or Fort Kent to have the same opportunity that the students had in Portland and Bangor. The idea was, how do we make a difference? How do we do something that would really change things, rather than just little tiny steps?

“And that’s what happened. I can tell you guys, it was a huge fight! I don’t know if you’ve heard, but it was a very big political battle. People hated the idea, and criticized me, I got beat up pretty good. It was the right thing to do, as you’re proving.”

Sebastian: Where do you think the MLTI program will be 15 years from now?

Senator King: “I think it will be an assumption that every student will have a digital device, from middle school through high school. Fifteen years from now people will look back and think, ‘Why’d we argue about that back in 2000?’ It’s such an regular part of how we learn and it’s an access of information.

“I don’t know what that device is gonna look like, whether it is some kind of iPad or something you wear on your wrist. It might be accessed verbally using Siri or some sort of version of that built in. I think I can say pretty confidently that every student is gonna have a digital device, because that’s where the world is.”

Sebastian: The MLTI program has taken a very active role in education, can you explain some of the benefits you see in such a partnership?

Senator King: “I think Number 1 is to place 21st century tools into the hands of our students. Number 2, give access to our students to all the knowledge in the world. It’s an information machine of huge capacity.

“Number 3, it has to be equitable, in other words, it’s available to all students, not just those whose parents can afford a laptop or those school districts that can afford it, but it’s available for every single school district in Maine. Available for every single classroom, every single seventh- and eighth-grader, I think that’s important.

“Number 4, it’s important for people like you to find your talent. I suspect that people in Maine who have an enormous talent in computing and in programming, information technology and in networking.

“If you stop and think about it … if you didn’t have those MLTI machines, it would be like a kid with tremendous potential to play the piano, without a piano. You gotta start with the basic infrastructure. I think those are the sum of the advantages, access to information and equity.

“Let me share one other thing, as you know, when you go to school every day, most of our schooling is teaching you content. When did Columbus discover America, what’s the formula for water, facts, data, content. I think in the future, we are moving towards education where the data and the facts are all online, and you will be taught to access that information and how to then use it for the purpose of solving problems with it.

“The key thing is not when did Columbus discover America, it is how does that fit into world history, and influence the future course of history, and that’s what I want our students to have is that problem solving ability. Another part of this is collaboration, working together to solve problems. That is the key to the 21 century’s skills, too.”

Duncan is a two-year member of the Aspire Higher Racing Team and has worked exclusively on the Technology and Public Relations Team. Duncan is now a ninth-grader and has high hopes to be in the technology industry when he is older. Duncan and his co-students presented at the MLTI conferences last year, presenting to 250-plus students and teaches about how, technology had been integrated into the Aspire Higher Race Team.

Duncan: As the current senator and the former governor in Maine, what has made you take on such an active role in education? 

Senator King: “Well, I am a product of public education myself. I think a strong public education system is an essential element of our democracy. It’s also an essential element of one of the secrets of America, which is access. People can move in the world, people can go places that they never dreamed to go, can learn things that they never thought they could learn. So, education is the heart of democracy.

“I have five kids myself that all go to public schools and I know the importance of a strong educational system. It creates strong citizens. In the 21st century, education is a difference maker. It used to be, that you could get a job in a factory of some kind, you didn’t need too much education and you could do fine and support your family and everything else.

“Today that’s not true, those jobs are much rarer, and almost every job you fellas will be looking for in seven or eight years will involve some good educational background with experience in technology.

“So, the bottom line is, my job is to try to help the state of Maine succeed and one of the most important ways to help Maine succeed is to have an absolutely top-notch educational system. That is what is going to differentiate us from our competitors.”

Duncan: What do you think about the natural connections between community businesses and the school district? Do you think it is appropriate?

Senator King: “I think the connections are great and I think it’s one of the good things that you guys are doing in the Oxford Hills community. We need to greater connect community and our public schools, particularly [with] businesses.

“Businesses have to realize that the schools are producing their future employees, their future leaders, and the schools have to realize that the business community is the essential element of support for the schools. I think anything we can do to increase and strengthen the relationship between the community and the school is absolutely important.”

Duncan: What are your thoughts about the Aspire Higher Race Car Team thus far?

Senator King: “Well, I am excited, I am really impressed about what you’ve done. I think you’re taking advantage of the opportunity that has been presented to you. I get the impression that members of the team are learning a lot, they are learning to work together, they are learning about the importance of science and technology, and engineering and mathematics because that is all part of what you’re doing.

“I just think that it’s amazing, and I hope the next time I am in the Oxford Hills area, I can get a chance to see the car! I don’t know if you wanna let me get behind the wheel, but I’d love to see the car and I look forward to seeing what you do with car number two.”

“Well let us know when you’re coming down we’ll show you around!” said Sebastian.

Senator King replied, “Alright, you got a date, you got a date fellas.”