Hit: Laptops

["Bender, Pat" <PBender@SHIPLEYSCHOOL.ORG>]

Here is the hit you asked for in abbreviated form: I received an
overwhelming response regarding laptops.  Most schools were very
enthusiastic about their use.

I heard from about 25 schools.
15 loan to teachers
10 loan to teachers and students
3 do not loan to students
4 have portable labs
4 lease rather than buy; one received a grant, everyone else purchases
theirs.
Most phase them in gradually by purchasing a nominal number and increasing
them each year.
Several schools have total laptop environments
7 schools have made laptops available for all teachers.
Most have students sign a liability form before borrowing.  Several have
teachers sign a form. 3 require teacher training; one requires teacher
training, then laptops are theirs.  One requires teachers to bring laptops
to school daily.
One school had to go to court to get a laptop back.
One school loans to homebound students.
Uses: word processing, grades, IEP reports, classroom projects, tests,
spreadsheets, presentations, e-mail, take to conferences.
Problems: one dropped, one stolen, in demand around report time or other
peak periods, security, mice have to be repaired or replaced, students
saving to hard drives, defective connections having to be fixed, small,
moveable screens can be blocked from teacher scrutiny.
Successes: excellent resources for teacher planning, great supplements to
classrooms, great for Grade Machine and other electronic grading programs.

Pat Bender
Upper School Librarian
The Shipley School
814 Yarrow Street
Bryn Mawr, PA
610-525-4300 x4134
FAX 610-525-2329
A KidsConnect Volunteer
pbender@shipleyschool.org

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