Different types of computers looked at for Cape students

A group of students from the Cape Girardeau Central senior and junior high schools attended a meeting Thursday to provide input on what type of personal computer the Cape Girardeau School District should be purchasing.

Madeline Poole, a sophomore at Central High School, said she was concerned about a computer's power supply.

"The batteries only last six hours," Poole said. "If we can find a computer with a long battery life, I'll be pleased."

Paige Messerly, also a sophomore, said she was more of a paper-and-pen person.

"But once we've picked out a device, it should be worthwhile," Messerly said. "It should make me more prepared for college."

Theresa Hinkebein, curriculum coordinator with the Cape Girardeau School District, speaks Thursday at a 1:1 initiative meeting. (Fred Lynch)

The meeting Poole and Messerly attended was the latest agenda meeting for the 1:1 technology initiative, which was unanimously approved in December by the Cape Girardeau School Board after months of discussion and recommendations. The initiative seeks to integrate technology into classrooms by presenting digital materials and textbooks on personal computers that will be assigned to students.

The computers could be taken home so students can study lessons and use an online dropbox to submit homework. Students without Internet access could download assignments to their computer while at school, work on them at home and submit them to the online dropbox the next day.

"I believe it's the wave of the future," said Theresa Hinkebein, curriculum coordinator for the Cape Girardeau schools. "Students will no longer need to schedule time in the computer lab to complete assignments. They'll be able to have that computer time in the classroom or at home."

The 1:1 initiative ultimately seeks to put personal computers in the hands of every student in the school district, but the initiative's pilot program is focused on Central High School. Teachers there will be assigned a computer along with a tutorial at the start of the 2013-2014 school year before students from grades nine through 12 are issued computers for the second semester.

"It's exciting how students will be educated using this technology," said school board member Stacy Kinder. "It's not like we're doing this to look good as a district."

Costs for the pilot program, to be paid for from the district's budget, have been previously estimated to run about $1 million. That figure could be less, depending on whether the district chooses to buy computers or lease them. If the computers are leased, the costs could be as low as $700,000.

"A lot of upfront costs disappear if we lease the computers," said Dr. Jim Welker, superintendent of the Cape Girardeau schools. "But whether we save money or not could depend on the type computer we decide to use. A certain computer could cost more to lease than to buy."

The options for personal computers from which the district will choose include Windows 8, MacBook Air and Chromebooks.

Assistant superintendent Sherry Copeland said students will have to like the device they will be using.

"That's the bottom line," Copeland said. "If they don't like it, they won't use it."

In addition to students learning from computer programs and becoming more tech savvy, the 1:1 initiative allows student progress to be monitored more closely.

"With the technology, immediate feedback can be given to teachers on students who need improvement," said school board president Tony Smee. "Right now, teachers are receiving that information on a quarterly basis."

Smee said that to him, the initiative is about giving students as much knowledge as possible.

"It's not about putting textbooks on a computer," he said. "It's all about outcomes."

Concerns have been raised about the 1:1 initiative's effect on the school district. One is the possibility teaching positions would be reduced to pay for its implementation.

"To say that we're cutting staff to pay for this is untrue," Welker said. "The point people fail to realize is that we evaluate needs very carefully. With enrollment down at the high school, we've had to remove two positions there. But we're going to have to add two positions at the middle school because of enrollment going up. We're always making those evaluations this time of year, and we didn't eliminate any position because of 1:1."

Another issue is whether the computers will belong to the students and if pornography could be accessed.

"The computers will be loaned to students like textbooks," Copeland said. "Students and parents will sign an agreement on usage. Students will have access to only certain places on the Internet when using their computer, and pornographic and other undesirable sites will be firewalled."

Kinder said concerned parents have spoken to her about whether the initiative is needed in the first place.

"Speaking for myself, I always tell them that 1:1 is terribly important for our students," she said. "It's a way for us to teach in the current climate with an eye to the future."

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.