Hale Center High School students receive MacBooks to

do school work
Some students receive their first personal computers
Posted: September 3, 2010 - 12:32am
By Alyssa Dion
A!A"A#$%&-'()*#A"
%A"& $&#+&* , -.t/s so beautiful,0 e1claimed 2aylan Baca, a %ale $enter %i3h School 4unior, as she pulled
the 5hite, 13-inch Apple 6acBoo7 from its case8 -.t/s too cool80
9reshman 2atie Beth Barton hu33ed her laptop to her chest, sayin3 aloud she hoped she 5ould not drop it since
she 5ill be usin3 that computer for the rest of the school year8
+he hi3h school rolled out about 1:0 6acBoo7s to students on +hursday mornin3 for the be3innin3 of %ale
$enter .SD/s first one-to-one laptop pro3ram8 &very student 5ill have a laptop to use in class and brin3 home to
do pro4ects and home5or78
At ; a8m8, hi3h students filed into the 3ymnasium to 5ait for their turn to pic7 up their laptops8 +he tables in
the common area 5ere decorated 5ith balloons and apples8 <opular music played in the 3ym and students san3
and danced alon3 as 3roups of students 3radually left to receive their shiny, 5hite laptops8
-=e 5anted it to be li7e $hristmas, li7e a celebration,0 said "ynette +homas, %$%S principal8
.n front of everyone in the 3ym, +homas selected 4unior Simona &spara as the first student to 3et a computer
because she had been enrolled in the school district since pre-7inder3arten8
9or some students, this 5as their very first personal computer8
=henever they 5anted to use a computer outside of school, 4unior A3ustin Sanche said, he and his t5in
brother *oman 5ould 3o to friends/ homes and use their computers because his family did not have a home
computer8
(thers 5ere nervous about usin3 a different operatin3 system or ad4ustin3 to usin3 computers in the classroom8
-. don/t really thin7 5e need them,0 said senior $olton Ashley8 -.t 5as easier before80
%e said he 5as comfortable usin3 his personal computer at home, and he 5orried the laptop 5ould cause more
problems if he has technical issues durin3 classes8
%o5ever, the ma4ority of students could hardly contain their emotions 5hen they 5ere finally allo5ed to open
and turn on their computers8 +hey 5ere already discussin3 ho5 they 5ould personalie their laptop cases8
&1cited -oohs0 and e1clamations filled the air in classrooms as computer screens lit up one by one8
-.t/s li7e an3els sin3in3 , ahh,0 said one student, imitatin3 the sound the computer made 5hen the po5er
button 5as pushed8
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Page 1 of 3 Hale Center High School students receive MacBooks to do school work | Lubbock Online
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"ast year, +homas said, teachers and staff received 1?-inch, 3ray 6acBoo7s and had a year to learn ho5 to use
them8 #o5, it 5as the students/ turn8
.nstead of re3ular classes on +hursday and today, students had -Apple Boot $amp,0 5here they 5ere instructed
on computer care and each of the soft5are pro3rams, includin3 i6ovie and @ara3e Band8
By schedulin3 the student 6acBoo7 rollout for +hursday, +homas said, students 5ould have the "abor Day
5ee7end to 3et acclimated to the computer soft5are8
+he 6acBoo7s 5ere purchased throu3h the !ision 2020 3rant , federal fundin3 directed at inte3ratin3
technolo3y use in classrooms for teachers and students8
+he AB31,?00 3rant paid for the 6acBoo7s, professional development, a part-time technician and soft5are8
But, a sudden 4ump in enrollment had the school order an additional 20 laptops, said *ic7 +eran, %ale $enter
.SD superintendent8 +he student body 3re5 from 1?: students last year to 1CD8
+he combination of the laptop pro3ram, the ne5 school buildin3 and the school/s reco3nied status attributed to
the hi3her enrollment, +eran said8
Some students 5ill borro5 e1tra staff laptops for the trainin3 sessionsE the remainin3 laptops should arrive by
the end of the 5ee78
"isa Bu1ton, a parent and the school board secretary, said her son and his friends could not 5ait to hold their
6acBoo7sE their e1citement 5as all over 9aceboo78
%er son can use the various soft5are for pro4ects, as7 teachers Fuestions from home and learn from multimedia
instead of 4ust readin3 5ords in a boo7, she said8
-.t/s 3oin3 to ma7e thin3s easier,0 said senior !ictoria Salinas8 -.t/s 3oin3 to be more efficient 5ith boo7s on the
computer and 888 sho5 me ho5 to do notes for colle3e80
+o ensure students are usin3 their laptops for school5or7 5hile in class, teachers told students the school/s
technolo3y director has remote access to all the computers and can see 5hat students are doin38
At home, ho5ever, +homas said she hopes students 5ill be motivated to use the computers for assi3nments as
5ell as fun8
<rior to receivin3 the laptops, parents 5ere reFuired to attend one trainin3 session at the school and pay a A?0
insurance fee per laptop8 Students 5ill not be able to ta7e home their 6acBoo7s until those reFuirements are
met8
.n the ne1t fe5 5ee7s durin3 the ne1t school board meetin3, there 5ill be a 6acBoo7 rollout for school board
members8
+eran said it 5as important for the school board to understand firsthand 5hat technolo3y the faculty, staff and
students 5ere usin38 6embers 5ill be trained durin3 their re3ular meetin3s8
-9or a school our sie to not only open 5ith ne5 computers for every student but also open up a ne5 facility at
the same time , it/s a 3reat time for a ne5 be3innin3,0 he said8
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Page # of 3 Hale Center High School students receive MacBooks to do school work | Lubbock Online
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"ubboc7 Avalanche-'ournal I201B8 All *i3hts *eserved8 +erms of Service and <rivacy <olicy
%ale $enter .SD updates
HA;8? million spent on ne5 ?3,000-sFuare-foot hi3h school buildin3 and old hi3h school renovations
H'unior hi3h students moved into old hi3h school buildin3
H!ision 2020 1:1 pro3ram for faculty, staff, students and school board
+A@S: "($A" #&=S A"JSSA D.K(#
Bac7 to +op
Page 3 of 3 Hale Center High School students receive MacBooks to do school work | Lubbock Online
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