The growth of the One Laptop Per Child movement and the recent release of the “$100 laptop” has been a bright spot in educational technology. Or so it seemed. Then the New York Times front-page article Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops made me take pause.

On the surface, the Times reports that there have been mixed to poor learning outcomes because “…laptops had been abused by students, did not fit into lesson plans, and showed little, if any, measurable effect on grades and test scores at a time of increased pressure to meet state standards. Districts have dropped laptop programs after resistance from teachers, logistical and technical problems, and escalating maintenance costs.”

Educators interviewed for the story reported “either the equipment broke down, kids used the laptops for surfing porn or for IM-ing test answers” but you have to wonder, what kind of professional development was provided to support the teachers using this technology? Did the districts surveyed roll out laptop programs without technical support, as it appears? And speaking of cheating and inappropriate messages, have they noticed what kids are writing and drawing with pencil and paper when the teacher isn’t looking?

Then there was the recently released study from the US Department of Education which according to most journalists said there was effectively no difference in academic achievement between students who used educational reading and math software, and those who didn’t. But read the fine print and the study notes that students’ average time-on-task was 10 minutes per day, and no weighting given to the quality of the software they used, facts which seem to have gone over the heads of everyone except for the editors at eSchool News, who responded with a scathing editorial on misleading reporting.

Just as that brouhaha has begun to fade, The National Poll on Children’s Health reports “US parents rate Internet Safety as being a more serious health threat to children than school violence, sexually transmitted diseases, abuse and neglect” according to this post on TechCrunch.

If we’re to believe these reports educational technology is ineffective, laptops — if they’re working at all — are used mainly to cheat and look at porn, and the Internet is too dangerous period. So what’s left, cuneiform tablets? It’s almost enough to make you snarky but I’ll choose to buckle down and build better products, support them with research and professional development, and make sure the media gets the message right.