The Oconto Falls School Board is poised to triple the number of students who will have daily use of a school-provided laptop computer.
Board members spoke Feb. 10 in favor of expanding the program after Washington Middle School teachers told of the successful roll-out of one-to-one technology for the seventh-grade class this school year.
“I love what’s happening already, and this is the first year,” School Board member Jan Stranz said. She recommended the district be aggressive in its approach to the program, arguing that students have become accustomed to using technology as a learning tool.
“There’s no turning back, as far as I’m concerned,” she said. Printed textbooks are too static, she added.
Director of Instruction Candie Lehto said textbooks now have an online component, featuring video clips, online worksheets and the most recent information available in the field.
“It’s a different experience for the kids, and that’s why we need to get involved with (one-to-one technology). They aren’t getting the experience without the technology,” she said.
“We’re looking at educating our students for the 21st century,” said School Board member Ken Harter, who added that technology is the standard in today’s colleges and work settings.
“They’re going to be better off, better educated for their future … having learned the skills and also having experience in using them,” Harter said.
Before the 2013-14 school year began, the district purchased 140 Lenovo laptops for 123 seventh-grade students at a cost of $825 each. The total cost for the project, including the carrying cases, was $119,000. Parents pay $60 a year to cover warranty costs.
At the end of the school year, the laptops are scheduled to be returned to the school to be updated, refurbished or repaired before being reissued in the fall of 2014 for use in eighth grade. The next crop of seventh-grade students would receive laptops for the 2014-15 school year, and the School Board will consider furnishing sophomores with personal devices, also.
Before expanding the program, School Board member Bec Kurzynske requested the board review the budget impact and extent of professional development provided for teachers to implement the technology in their classrooms. This information is scheduled to be presented to the School Board on March 10.
Seventh-grade teachers at Washington Middle School have quickly incorporated the laptops into daily lessons, according to teacher Cindy Cho.
“We’re just finding all kinds of uses now that the kids have this tool in their hand,” she said. “It just has really revolutionized how we can make materials available to them and make resources available to them.”
Students can watch videos or listen to audio presentations to enhance their understanding of the material. When reading eBooks, they can click on a word they don’t understand, and a definition pops up. They can also access work online, which has reduced the number of printed handouts, and interact with one other and their teacher electronically. Standardized testing is done on their personal devices, which frees the computer lab for other uses. Teachers can post resources for research projects, which students access online.
“We’re able to dig deeper. Instead of having one day in a lab … we can spend a week,” Cho said.
Teacher JoAnn Peters said they’ve encountered only a few problems with the laptops. Students complain about carrying them around, so carrying bag options will be studied for next year, Peters said.
Once they were equipped with laptops, the seventh-grade students began learning the computer skills necessary for their courses. Cho recommended these skills be taught at an earlier grade level, so seventh-grade students can apply what they’re learned, not learn the skills.
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