As part of the One to One Initiative Program, each Orange County School system student in 6th through 12th grade will be able to rent a laptop for the year for an annual fee of $25. According to the Orange County School website, “the laptops will be distributed to all students in grades 6-12 in a staggered roll out during the first month of school.”
OHS students in tech-support and online classes received their laptops on Friday, August 31 while students currently in math courses starting receiving laptops on Tuesday, September 4. According to Assistant Principal Will Okun, English courses will be next in order of distribution followed by science courses. The tentative goal to have laptops in the hands of all OHS students is Friday, September 14, according to Okun.
The One-to-One Initiative Program is the official title for the laptop movement, which grants both students and teachers laptops for the year. The program has been in planning for at least a few months, with upgrades to the wireless system to support the increasing traffic occurring in February.
Teachers received their laptops during July and have been experimenting with ways to incorporate the new technology into their lessons.
“Working with the new computers is the next logical step for students!” Sarah Hill, an OHS English 1 and 2 teacher, said. “Teaching and learning with computers is going to help our students as they further their education and their careers. Computers in the classroom will also help them adapt to the expectations of the 21st century.”
The laptop, a Lenovo Z131E, comes with protective sleeve or with the limited option of a backpack with an attached laptop pouch. All Orange County laptops are engraved with the official seal of the school system, making it easily distinguishable from non-school machines.
Several informative meetings in the OHS auditorium targeting parents were held during the week of August 20 to ensure smooth transitioning for the parents as well as the students. At the meeting, the purpose of the laptops was stated clearly: the laptops provide the opportunity for more individualized learning as well as promotes an attitude of initiative amongst the students. The wireless aspect is also advantageous as students and teachers can communicate from any point with such capability.
The meeting emphasized that safety guidelines for Internet and computer use would be strictly enforced. Such safety precautions include the restriction of Facebook and Twitter. They also emphasized that, although the county owns the it, it is each student’s responsibility to take care of his or her own laptop.
It is strongly recommended that each student purchase his own headphones with an attached microphone and a 2 to 4 gigabyte flash drive to back up important information to make the most out of their laptop experience. Battery conditioning will also be important as the laptops have a 9 hour battery life and students only be able to recharge their laptops in the cafeteria and media center; failure to bring a fully-charged laptop to school is akin to failure to bring in homework. In case of a technical problem, each school will have a Help Desk in the media center where students can go to fix the laptops during school hours and a Lenovo hotline number to call after school hours.
0 comments