Central City Sets Laptop Standards
By: Claire Kellett, Anchor/Reporter
By
Claire Kellett
Story Created:
Mar 13, 2008 at 10:28 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Mar 13, 2008 at 10:28 PM CDT
CENTRAL CITY - Soon students in the Central City School District won't have to worry about whether or not they'll have a computer to use. Starting this fall, students there will have their very own laptops.
Computer time is hard to come by for Central City students. Finding a free keyboard during class time can be a challenge.
“You have to claim your territory,” says Sophomore Kolin Schmidt.
Claim a computer before someone else steps in. This fall, friendly fights over tech time will fade. The district is making a hefty purchase.
“A total of about 380 computers,” says Superintendent John Dotson.
Meaning classrooms will be littered with laptops. All students in fifth through twelfth grades and their teachers will have their own portable computers for use at school and at home.
“Apple has not worked with any other district to roll out a program of this magnitude,” says Dotson.
A program that puts laptops in eight different grade levels.
“It’ll be way easier to use than the computers now because they're so slow,” says Freshman Paige Howe.
Improving computer speed won't push back any other school projects or affect funding for a new gymnasium.
“We will pay for it strictly out of the SILO funds passed in Linn County this past year,” says Dotson.
The laptops will be strictly for school subjects, and will come equipped with filters and blockers.
“It will be very difficult for students to get on websites we don't want them on,” says Dotson.
But very easy for students to incorporate laptops into the learning process.
The district will have an insurance policy to cover any broken or dropped laptops. The district didn't forget about the younger students. The Kindergarten through fourth grade levels will have mobile computer labs that travel from classroom to classroom.
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Sunday, Mar 16 at 5:43 PM MathueTax wrote ...
Brian Jerome, funny as it may sound, computers are used in almost everyones day to day jobs. School is after all about teaching skills to have a successful, productive life.
Sunday, Mar 16 at 1:06 PM CC is Getting Apple wrote ...
Shawn G, I think you were miss informed buy the photo. The computers in the shot are old ones the school already has. Next fall when CC gets the new laptops they will be Apple. Mr. Dotson was a little misquoted in the article. I believe if you watch the video he states that 'Apple has not worked with any other district to roll out a program of this magnitude in Iowa.' The 380 new computers will all be MacBooks. The school is keeping their old PCs for now also.
Saturday, Mar 15 at 5:34 PM Brad wrote ...
This is about putting modern tools into the hands of 21st century learners. If the district is providing adequate professionals development they will be wildly successful. Good Luck. We are pulling for you!
Saturday, Mar 15 at 8:36 AM Shawn G wrote ...
Huh? Apple hasn't worked with a district to roll out 300 computers? Are you kidding? I took my Apple certification training in Austin there were people in the class who managed districts of over 2000 computers, plus servers, etc. What a joke! Follow the money, I bet Dell is taking them out to a nice steak dinner (in Hawaii)! Apple is the best at the education market. Enjoy the spyware and viruses that are sure to plague the Windows laptops they're buying!
Friday, Mar 14 at 11:23 PM Now that the students have the tools... wrote ...
The teachers need to know how to teach the students using those tools. In other words, both teachers & students must be clever & innovative to make the most of this technology or it will be just a paperweight. At one time a 5th-grade education was good enough, then it was 8th grade, then 12th grade. Today you need a bachelors degree to compete. If parents, teachers and students can make the most of this technology, these laptops are in the hands of future doctorates.
Friday, Mar 14 at 7:18 PM Learning for Brain J wrote ...
Statistics can be found at: http://images.apple.com/education/k12/onetoone/pdf/ResearchLearningPrograms.pdf A summary: • Improved writing skills and depth of student research • Increased student interest in learning and ownership of the learning process • Improvement in attendance • Reductions in student behavior problems • Increased parental interest in school activities • Improved student morale • A reduction in lecture/presentation instruction and increase in project-based learning
Friday, Mar 14 at 6:57 PM Fear of Progress is a Dead End Road wrote ...
Brain, You are right. People have learned for years without computers. At one time people learned without books or formal schools. Advancements in knowledge come from research and advancements in delivery of information. “If we resist change; we’ll fail, If we accept change; we’ll survive, If we create change; we’ll succeed.” Mike Schlappi--Four-Time Paralympic Medalist in USA Men's Wheelchair Basketball “If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong.” Charles Kettering
Friday, Mar 14 at 5:54 PM Change is Good...Change is Powerful wrote ...
At one time we learned by trial and error. Scientific research changed that. At one time more people stopped there education after the 8th grade than went to college. I guess we could never try to improve the way we educate. After all, nothing new ever works. Brain, why do you use a computer? How did you learn how to use it? Did your schooling look the same as your father and grandfathers?
Friday, Mar 14 at 5:05 PM CoolK wrote ...
Supt. Dotson is seriously misinformed. The entire State of Maine has deployed "1 to 1" student laptops in all middle schools and some high schools. A total of 40,000 units--ALL APPLE! And the state renewed their Apple contract for the next 3-4 years. I know of a middle school in Tiburon, CA, that has over 400 Mac laptops for students in grades 5-8. Hundreds of other examples exist, too. And these students will never know life with Apple's iLife suite... Good luck, Central City!
Friday, Mar 14 at 4:22 PM To Brian Jerome wrote ...
It just doesn't just matter that you CAN something, it also matters HOW. That applies to learning as it applies to most things. You make it sound as though education has never changed. It has, and although change is scary, it is reality. You may as well pick ANY tool, from books to calculators to video programming, and say that people learned without it for centuries. Irrelevant. Of course any tool, including a computer or a box of paints, can be a waste of money. It depends how it is applied.
Friday, Mar 14 at 3:04 PM Brian Jerome wrote ...
Why does our leadership think it prudent to utilize taxpayer’s money this way? Will any NEW learning take place with a laptop? For centuries people have learned vast amounts of knowledge without computers. Skills such as reading, writing, mathematics, etc. What are the skills being taught K-12 that requires laptops? I guess the kindergarteners can now use MacPaint instead of the old standby, actual paint. Maybe we should think about a portable printer too so they can print off their artwork.
Friday, Mar 14 at 2:27 PM Wildcat wrote ...
This is really about more than just computers. The power of the 21st century has just been place in the hands of Central City's students!
Friday, Mar 14 at 11:25 AM Zach Padgett wrote ...
This is gonna be awesome when we get computers SWEET
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