Quality education is no longer possible without technology
by Mary Scott Nabers
CEO of Strategic Partnerships, Inc.
. . . continued from page one
All school districts are committed to purchasing desktop computers. And, a recent trend of interspersing laptops and netbooks to ensure that every student has access to technology is evident. The ultimate goal of almost every school district is to provide access to computers and to the Internet for each student at every grade level.
The current "Thumbs Generation," being extremely adept in the use of mobile technology such as smart phones, e-mail and text messaging, needs technology resources. They come from a world where technology is commonplace and they are comfortable with the Internet. Most students are also quick to say that learning is simply more fun when technology is involved. Teachers, on the other hand, know that technology adeptness is a critical key to success in any chosen field.
In schools where laptops are issued to students, boys and girls are free to take theirs home. With a laptop, they can do their homework, check classroom assignments, perform Internet research and sometimes get virtual assistance available via cyberspace.
But, laptop computers are expensive and as school districts continually struggle for adequate funding, some have turned to netbooks, a smaller version of a laptop.
Netbooks are about the size of a textbook and they fit comfortably into a student's backpack. The technology is relatively inexpensive - many sell for as little as $150 to $300. However, even with the lower price, a netbook's capability is impressive. Students get the benefit of multimedia capabilities, color displays, quick start-up, Internet access and a suite of software.
Netbooks are also being used in library media centers for Internet research and in science labs for collection and storage of data. Students like netbooks and many corporate executives see them as leading-edge technology.
As with personal computers, the technology for netbooks continues to evolve but they will most likely never replace laptops. They were not developed to compete and in spite of the fact that they provide Internet access, they don't have CD drives and numerous other essential capabilities.
The Brownwood ISD recently launched an initiative to go paperless by furnishing laptops to high school students. The district invested $1.2 million to purchase 1,000 laptops. Costs were covered by a grant from the Texas Education Agency which provides funding for wireless mobile computing devices. Fifteen other Texas school districts received the same type of grant funding and the money is scheduled to begin flowing to districts this month.
Irving ISD is replacing laptops and/or augmenting them with 4,600 netbooks. Grand Prairie ISD ordered 1,200 netbooks for its new career high school. Northwest ISD has purchased more than 3,500 netbooks for high school students. And some schools are testing different brands and models of netbooks in pilot programs.
Texas is not the only state where netbooks have become popular teaching devices. The Cherry Creek Schools in Colorado recently approved the purchase of netbooks and will use federal stimulus funding to pay for them.
In Nebraska, Crawford school district officials recently purchased netbooks which will be used by students involved in distance learning, visual production and advanced journalism and research. The goal of that district is to eventually provide every student with a netbook which can be taken with them when they graduate.
In California, a major oil company donated funding to the Taft Union High School to purchase netbooks for seniors. The objective was to give the students a sound foundation in technology. Corporations, with a vested interest in a trained and skill workforce, are seeing the benefit of helping local school districts turn out students with appropriate skills.
As technology evolves, so does education. In many cases, schools issue laptops or netbooks to students who do not have computers or Internet access at home. That helps bridge the "digital divide." It is becoming harder each week for any student to succeed in any career without a solid foundation in the use of technology. We can be assured of seeing more technology in classrooms in the months and years to come.
