Destination Laptop creating the Wave of Successful 1-1 Program

Barber Hill Independent School District has implemented laptops a high school and middle schools. This school district went with PCS.
They are piloting at the Intermediate level with one to one. They are using netbooks at this level and it is working well.
Karen, Jon, and I have a laptop manual from the district.

Started with lots of questions. The question was asked how the students took care of the laptops. The presenters said that students had took ownership with their laptops and they had really took care of the equipment.

Rational for a 1 to 10 Program
Increase daily access
Balance the scales between the 'haves" and the 'have-nots".
Technology is part of how students learn.


Make sure curriculum material is available online. They have put the electronic version of textbook on every computer. Need to have someone researching the online version of textbook and have good communication with textbook company.

Obstacles
1.Admin/Staff resistance.
2.Staffing-What do you need to make this work?
3. Texas State Board of Education. State board is trying to ellimate the use of bond money to
purchasing laptops.
4. Dealing with parents who do now want/refuse laptops.
5. Funding Sources- Starup and Ongoing Costs
1. School Bonds
2. Usage/Insurance Fees
3. Fees/Fines or Damage
4. Reimursement checks for work done by district
5. Auction site recapture

Complete Care Coverage on laptops is important. It will cover all things except theft.
Need someone on each campus that can fix equipment. Have employee be trained and certified to work on equipment.

Barber Hill requires every teacher to get 12 hours of technology training. They asked the teachers what they were afraid of most with the laptops. They also asked them their expectation that they would have with their students with the laptops.

It takes the teachers 2 to 3 years to adapt to the laptops and implementing them into their classrooms.

Program Needs
X- Strikes is used in this distsict to restrict the use of students going to inappropriate sites. After five times going to an inappropriate siste it shuts the laptop down. In the student manual they are restricted from downloading music and games.
Monitoring the laptops is a need. Teachers and parents are the best way to monitor inappropriate behaviors.