East Chicago, Michigan City, Switzerland County, and Tell City share more than a common Hoosier heritage: They--along with more than 70 other Indiana high schools--are using inexpensive computers and open-source software to reinvigorate teachers, engage learners, and ensure that Indiana's students are prepared for the world of tomorrow.

A less expensive way of reaching one-to-one computing in classrooms, Indiana's Affordable Classroom Computers for Every Secondary Student (inACCESS) program is changing the way teachers teach and students learn by introducing state-of-the-art technology and technology-rich resources to English and language-arts classrooms in high schools statewide. In some schools, science, math, and social studies classrooms also are coming on board.

The inACCESS program focuses on cost-containment, keeping costs low while increasing students' access to technology. InACCESS provides just-in-time technology access and the integration of resources and materials on demand in the classroom. Instruction drives the use of technology--and it's no longer reliant on access to overcrowded, overscheduled, and often unavailable computer labs. Instead, inACCESS facilitates ubiquitous access to technology.

"After a decade of technology spending that resulted in a 4-to-1 student-to-computer ratio, and few quantifiable results, we recognized that any viable program would need to be affordable, sustainable, and focused on instruction to produce results," says Phyllis Usher, assistant superintendent of public instruction. "It is important that we are able to provide high-quality education and enhanced learning opportunities to all of Indiana's students, not just a few. We knew we needed to rethink technology access if we were serious about improving learning."

Rethinking the way technology is purchased, deployed, and used required some new ideas, serious thought to our purpose, and the willingness to try new things. The nexus of several key factors helped influence development of the inACCESS program: Funds for technology were dwindling. State funds had been cut, and federal funding was continuing to shrink. The advance toward ubiquitous computing had been stalled, with a student-to-computer ratio of approximately four students for every computer. With decreased funding, the prospect of being able to improve on that ratio was dim and fading.

Another wake-up call came in early 2003 when we began looking at how schools were using their dwindling technology resources. In short, it became clear that the average student in an Indiana high school had access to a computer for only about 35 minutes per week. Without adequate access guaranteed, it was not feasible to plan complex, rigorous activities that depended on the use of a computer, because it was not always possible to assure completion of these activities in one scheduled lab session. Teachers reported that, with so little time for classes to access computers, it was not realistic to revise the curriculum to increase technology integration.