In the framework of European policies, the distribution of free or low-cost laptops to children in the 1st cycle of basic education in Portugal, was a political measure that had as main goals to democratize the access to information technologies (ICT), and, in that way, to promote its use in the teaching and learning processes, preparing, very early, the new generations to the knowledge society.
However, the idea that ICT by itself can generate changes and progress, present in many speeches about the information society, appears to suffer of a certain technological determinism that has been denounced by the empirical evidence since several years ago (Lyon, 1992). One question that arises at the information society is  the problem of digital divide,  concerning  the inequalities of access and use of the ICT  by different social groups, having constantly new settings (Castells, 2007). In the other end, studies in the education field show that the simple use of ICT without any change of teaching practices, does not bring significant changes to the education systems and can exacerbate initial learning inequalities (Eurydice, 2001; Miranda, 2007).
The political measure of distributing laptops to families instead of to schools amplifies the potential scope of such initiatives, raising questions related to the process of integration of new technologies in the school environment, in the familiar environment, and, in special, about the relationship between those two contexts.
The sociology of education had been aware of how the established relation between school and family, in structural terms and in interactions among social actors, can foster or work as a barrier to the schooling process, in general, and to the children school learning (Dubet, 1997; Epstein, 1992; Lareau, 1989; Montandon & Perrenoud, 1987; Silva, 2003).
This paper seeks to understand how the concerned political measure is being appropriated by social actors, from the relationship established between school and family, especially considering the following questions: (i) Which are the uses of Magalhães laptop at the school and at home? (ii) Which is the articulation between the uses of Magalhães laptop in both contexts? (iii) Which are the communication practices between the school and the family, in general, and in regard to the uses of Magalhães laptop? (iv) Which are the representations of parents, teachers and children about the opportunities and constraints of the measure?

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