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Should families have access to laptops

So what does everyone think of the laptop program at Welborn? Here’s the link to the article.

I’m working on a feature piece that will look at paperless classrooms and the idea that notebooks and textbooks really aren’t necessary anymore. Look for it in the next few weeks.

The netbooks are the students’ to use but school officials told me it’s understood that the rest of the family at home will use them as well. Some of the parents I spoke with said they like the program but that their child has access to a computer at home or even has their own computer already.

Then again Welborn serves some of the poorest communities in High Point and for many of these families this will be the first computer in the home.

Some of you might take objection to that. “Why should tax money go to buying these people a computer? Nobody bought me a computer!”

Not a bad point. I definitely intend to look at how many of these things actually come back at the end of year and if the school tracks any overall improvement in the kids’ grades and performance.

But you can also make the argument that giving parents access to these computers is a major benefit as well. What if the unemployed parent uses it to find a job? What if they have two jobs, find it hard to get to the school and this computer allows them to have email communication with their child’s teacher?

I’m sure some parents and other siblings will use these laptops for YouTube, Facebook and God only knows what else and, though I don’t know it for a fact, I doubt the grant that paid for them includes that.

So what do you think? Is this waste of taxpayer money? Do you think it will benefit student and family alike?

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Posted by J. Brian Ewing on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 10:03 am

What do you think?

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Illiterati

November 5, 2009 - 3:34 pm EST

I'm all for it, and a magnet school is a good place to work out the bugs of this new system. Netbooks are inexpensive, and relatively simple to maintain and repair, making them a wise choice for this.

Schools should help kids prepare for the rest of their lives, and computer skills are an integral part of that future. Computers in the home are no longer a luxury, and kids and their families without in-home computer access are at a distinct disadvantage. Kids gain access to a wider range of information beyond the limits/budgets of school or public libraries. Parents gain access to online job listings, often well before those job ads show up in print—if they're printed in the paper at all. People with computer skills have a leg up in the job market over those who don't. Online/email communication between school and home is quicker, easier, and much cheaper. And on and on.

Of logistical interest is how the school will deal with the inevitable loss of some of these netbooks. Will the student automatically receive a new one? Will the family have to reimburse the school? It'll also be interesting to see the condition of the machines at the end of the year. Any idea what kind of netbooks they're using? The ones with the solid-state hard drives are pretty bomb-proof (i.e., kid-proof) and cheaper; if it were up to me, that's what I'd go for.

EGParent

November 5, 2009 - 3:45 pm EST

I would have less of a problem with it if the school system could provide enough text books for our students and
they were not told that they could not only take them home , but they have to share them in the classroom setting
also...

Illiterati

November 5, 2009 - 8:36 pm EST

Textbooks (and consumer fiction and nonfiction) are increasingly available in digital form—many of which are even interactive with video and so forth—which makes netbooks for students even more appropriate as el/hi schools and universities around the world begin to adopt the new format. Digital textbooks also tend to be less expensive than print versions. Also, the Internet gives students access to more information—and more current information—than they can find in a static printed textbook. Like it or not, computers are the books of today.

EGParent

November 6, 2009 - 9:53 am EST

One of the most frustrating issues that I have with Guilford County schools is their
complete inaptitude to use the technology that they have today to it's fullest ....

My son can not bring his textbooks home to study because there are not enough for every student...
I did find his textbooks and wonderful study guides online....but his books were so far behind that the
text is no longer supported on the website!!!

I tried a more current edition but our school system does not sign up and use the service either so our students do not even have access to it if we did have current textbooks!!!

I am not against computers...but we need to hire and train personal that know how to use them and get the fullest
benefits from them. Our teachers laptops are so locked down that they cannot even use them to pull material for their classrooms down. They have to do this from their home if they do it at all..

Every teacher needs to be given a laptop first and it needs to be set up so that they can access educational sites
to support their classroom..We need online access to our students grades and direct contact to our teachers...
The teachers should be trained and have to pass a computer and technology competancy test to be able to keep their jobs...

Once the teachers have laptops and know how to use them then we give them to the kids....if indeed these
became their textbooks (which they should) we would save thousands of dollars and trees!!!

stafford5465

November 6, 2009 - 9:29 am EST

There is no evidence that children learn more or better in a paperless environment. I will embrace change when you show me that it is better for me. This has not been done.

jwg_

November 6, 2009 - 7:20 pm EST

I didn't see it mentioned but since they are NETbooks, they are going to be most effective when connected to the internet (I didn't see the specs on the machines, either). How does the student/family get internet access to make effective use of the tool?

oscardad44

November 11, 2009 - 11:03 am EST

Why would would a writer question how the usage of a resource will be used in the household in lieu of embracing the resource for the students and the potential for supporting the classroom efforts.

Have we questioned many of the other schools that do not have alot of poor students and question the usage of electronic resources those students have access to carry home and if there family are using the materials.

What would we do without always having writers dig for the racial view of a positive story