News

Lap of luxury! Sixth graders to get computers

By JAMES COLLINS / Niles Daily Star
Friday, July 2, 2004 10:42 AM EDT

NILES -- While many teachers will be doing what they can to keep their students from gazing out of the windows, Niles Community Schools' sixth-grade teachers will be encouraging their students to concentrate on windows.

Niles Community Schools Director of Technology and Media Services Dave Del Muro stands with the computers at the Westside Administration building.

Microsoft Windows, that is.

Earlier this week, the district received 298 Compaq/HP laptops as part of the Freedom to Learn Grant, a federally-funded grant that goes through the State of Michigan. The grant will allow each sixth-grade student in the district to have their own laptop computer.

As part of the grant, Niles Community Schools was required to pay $25 per computer, which comes to a total of $7,450.

Niles Community Schools Director of Technology and Media Services Dave Del Muro estimates each computer is worth about $1,200 with anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 worth of software included.

He said the grant is basically like a four-year lease of the computers. When the four years is up, the district will have the option of buying the computers for $1 each.

"We are always fighting with the budget to get good computers, so this grant was just a blessing," he said.

"What an opportunity for these kids," Del Muro said. "This will help the students to become more computer and internet savvy."

He said the state of the art computers are completely wireless and come with loads of useful software including Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Encarta, anti-virus software, full multimedia capabilities and teacher friendly programs like Discourse and Connected Tech. The computers also come with a program called Cybersitter, which will act as a content filter.

But, not only will the computers get the students more familiar with new technologies, they will also be used in the classroom to help teach the four cores: math, language arts, science and social studies.

"It is not just a computer, it is a tool that teachers will integrate to help teach the curriculum," Del Muro said.

Because the computers are such an expensive tool, the students will not be allowed to take them home, he said.

Howard Elementary sixth-grade teacher Judy Bybee was the first teacher to check out the new computers at the Westside Administration building.

"I am very excited," Bybee said. "This is an opportunity for the students to learn to use technology in a way that can benefit their education."

She already has a few lessons planned for the computers.

In addition to teaching them how to properly use the internet and word processing programs, Bybee thinks the computers will be an important tool to help the kids improve their basic typing skills.

Del Muro said using the new computers will be a big learning process for both the students and the teachers.

Sixth grade teachers will be required to go through a series of workshops and training sessions to familiarize them with using the technology as a teaching tool.

"It will take a period of transition to use the full potential of this marriage between technology and learning," Del Muro said.

Bybee said this new concept in the classroom will come with lots of rules and regulations.

"It is going to be very structured," she said. "We are not just going to give them a computer and let them loose."

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