After being slow to embrace the idea, it’s nice to see the Department of Education showing enthusiasm for putting a tablet or laptop computer in the hands of every public school student.

When Gov. Neil Abercrombie proposed it last year, the DOE broke into the Hawaii state bureaucracy’s trademark chorus of “cannot, cannot, cannot.”

Among the dubious alarms: It could cost $60 million a year, it would take 10 years to implement, training would be a nightmare.

Never mind that many private schools have implemented it in one school year with few problems and at a reasonable cost.

In the Legislature, Senate Ways and Means Chairman David Ige, who’s running against Abercrombie for governor, doubted students could use digital devices to improve achievement.

Never mind that Ige and other senators boast about buying laptops for themselves to streamline lawmaking. Believe me, a state senator is not technologically smarter than the average fifth-grader.

The DOE now thinks tablets or laptops for each student can help achieve higher standards to get students to the next level in language arts and math.

The Legislature provided only $8 million of the $29 million requested to start the program, and the DOE is using it for a promising pilot program to prove the concept in eight schools covering all grades.

It makes sense for students to be taught with the tools they’ll need to succeed in life, which aren’t pencils and paper anymore.

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Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.