Laptop initiative expands learning opportunities

NISD Communications Department

August 25, 2006

[b]Laptop initiative expands learning opportunities at Business Careers High School[/b]

The classrooms at Business Careers High School no longer are confined to four walls, thanks to a district-funded initiative that has put a wireless laptop in the hands of every student and teacher at the Northside magnet school.

At the same time, the entire curriculum at Business Careers is being redesigned to incorporate the laptops into classroom instruction, making it the first high school in Bexar County to fully implement a school-wide computing initiative.

"This is the way students are going to learn in the future," Superintendent John Folks said. "We are already headed in that direction."

The school distributed more than 700 laptops last week and held two-hour orientation sessions for students. Already adept with the latest technology, students gave Folks a quick tutorial in the capabilities of Google Earth and showed him how to find the Business Careers campus on a satellite photo.

"They're so proficient," Folks said.

Alfonso Pagaza, sophomore class president, said the entire school is buzzing over the laptops.

"Everybody feels so enthusiastic and energized and ready to start a brand new year," he said. "Everybody here is thankful not only to Principal Geri Berger, but to the superintendent and the board for giving us the privilege that most students in high school don’t have yet."

Other than an insurance fee, the laptops are free for the students. NISD business partner Washington Mutual donated $15,000 to the district to fund staff development for the computing initiative.

The laptop boasts programs like Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Photoshop, as well as a note-taking program that students can use in class, said Megan Cobarruvias, a junior who wants to study business or biology in college.

Last year, if Megan needed to use any of those programs, she was limited to two computer labs on campus. Now, "I can do my work anywhere on campus," she said.

That's exactly what district and school leaders have in mind.

"It's going to expand learning beyond the four walls of the classroom," Business Careers Principal Geri Berger said. "Our students will be able to take their classroom anywhere, literally."

Which is just how it will be in the real world, Berger said.

"Once you're in business, the second you leave the office, work doesn't stop," she said. "With our students, learning will be constant."

The new curriculum will be phased in over three years, Berger said. This year, the laptops will be incorporated into English 1 and 2, world geography, world history and business courses. For example, students reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" might be asked to use the Internet to research the time period in which the book took place, Berger said.

The idea is for students to take charge of their learning, she said.

"Because we've redesigned the curriculum, we feel like we can go outside the box and take our curriculum to the next level," Berger said. "We really feel that learning is truly student focused and the teachers are acting as facilitators. The students are going to be actively engaged."

The laptop initiative is the result of a unique partnership between the District's Technology Services Department and Business Careers and is considered a pilot project for the district. District leaders are looking at the possibility of implementing laptop programs at other Northside magnet programs, Folks said.

Northside's newest high school, Brandeis High School which is under construction and will open in summer 2008 is being built as a totally wireless campus.

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