As part of our new campus vision, 2007-08 marked the beginning of an initiative for WBAIS to become a laptop school. Following a successful pilot program with 7th grade, plans were put in place to phase in 8th grade, recommend the required use of family owned laptops in high school and explore the use of laptops in elementary classrooms. This initiative supports our technology mission with a focus on Digital Literacy, Digital Citizenship and enhancing the learning opportunities that multimedia and collaborative communication bring about. It is a student centered educational program designed to use digital tools in the learning environment while meeting our growing demand for student access to computers. Students are learning to digitally receive, organize, produce, communicate and submit course materials and how to make choices about learning tools.
The WBAIS laptop initiative is a natural progression from the teacher laptop initiative implemented 5+ years ago. Students' skills and knowledge will be integrated into the instructional program the same way that teacher laptops digitized the way teachers manage, create and present learning materials, as well as report on student progress. The term laptop in this document includes any personal digital assistant tool that can be used to meet the academic computer needs of a student.
As teachers, students, parents and administrators prepare and plan future educational opportunities, the general statements in the box below will be included in next year's school documents to inform the WBAIS community and guide our evolution in the use of laptops as a learning tool. In addition, the MS 1 to 1 laptop project FAQ document will contain similar statements to reflect our current direction in each division. While these statements speak primarily about the distribution of hardware the initiative is very much an educational initiative with a focus on laptop use as a learning and management tool.
In Order to meet the growing demand for access to digital tools in the learning environment and develop a culture of digital literacy, citizenship and productive use of technology in the learning environment,
By the school year 2009-2010:
• ES Program: School owned laptops and handhelds will be used in kits to provide 1 to 1 computer use in classrooms (primarily 5th and 4th grade)for projects and activities at scheduled times. Computer lab will be available for instruction and project use (Primarily K-3).
• MS Program: School owned 1 to 1 student laptop program for grades 6 – 8 to provide 24/7 access to a standard set of digital tools and resource for all Middle School students. Thus developing a culture of productive use of these learning tools. Tech support provided by WBAIS and laptop support partner.
• HS Program: Family owned 1 to 1 laptop program is required for all students following a college model. This program is designed to meet the individual computing needs of the student's program of study. A list of basic computer specifications will be made available. Tech support is the family's responsibility. Two computer labs are used for high end technology rich courses and special projects.
• Teacher Program: Teachers will continue to be provided with a laptop to serve as their teacher computer for school to home to school use. This will be instead of a desktop not in addition to a desktop. All desktops currently in classrooms will remain but will not be replaced or upgraded
once they are retired. Teacher laptops are upgraded annually by request and recommended on a 4 year use schedule.
Why school owned in ES and MS:
• We are establishing a culture of laptop use as a learning tool not an entertainment and recreational tool. School owned laptops gives us the control needed to begin establishing this kind of culture.
• Equality of computer need is standard in elementary and Middle School. Providing school owned laptops maintains this standard and equity among student peers.
• School owned Laptops can easily be configured for our network, supported through a cloning process and installed with software needed for MS courses ans ES classes. This would be very difficult to manage with family owned laptops and elementary and middle school students may not be as capable as high school students in managing their own tech support and formatting needs.
• We have the option of clearing hard drives and reformatting laptops in instances of inappropriate use with school owned laptops. We would not have that option with family owned laptops.
Why family owned in HS
• The diversity in courses and the interest of the student requires different standards of computers for different groups of students.
• This diversity serves the HS students well because some benefit from inexpensive handhelds, netbooks, PCs or laptops, while others benefit from tablets or expensive laptops.
• We are moving toward the use of a broad range of laptops in the high school instead of trying to implement a uniform program as in the middle school.
• HS students should develop the skills and maturity to care for their own laptops, as they will when they go on to college and universities.
• Managing the Tech Support for this diverse use of laptops is better achieved on an individual basis by the student's family.
We believe "as so eloquently conveyed in The World is Flat, there is no turning back. New technologies will constantly emerge—and, with them, will come social, political, educational, and civic change. One-to-one learning ensures that students will be ready to seize such opportunities competently, intelligently, and with social conscience." (From "One-to-One Learning, A Review Analysis" by the Metiri Group).
Our staff is spending in-service time this year preparing for our expanding laptop program. Families of students entering grades 9-12 next year should be preparing to purchase a laptop for their high schooler if they have not already done so. Suggested laptop specifications are available near the end of the student handbook in the section titled, "Recommendations for Home Computers."
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