Lessons With Laptops
Lourdes Duarte and Al Romero, Reporter/ Producer
November 27, 2007
There's a debate about students using laptops in the classroom. Some people say they're a distraction; others say you can't live without them.
But there's one high school in Burbank where laptops are required. WGN's Lourdes Duarte recently visited this high-tech high school.
At Queen of Peace High School in Burbank, there is no debate. Students are required to have laptops. They're provided by the school and come with the cost of tutition -- no ifs, ands or buts about it.
Pay close attention to this hallway at Queen of Peace High School. What they're carrying at the end of that strap on their shoulders is a laptop. Every single one of them -- from freshmen to seniors in every classroom on every desk.
Principal Kathleen Hanlon says the students' motivation has already gone up.
"Well, I think it will help me because in college all they use is laptops so it's better that you are one step ahead," says student Nicole Fosco.
She couldn't be more correct. A nationwide survey a year ago on college campuses found that 58 percent of students in college own laptops.
"We did the survey in 2002 and found that only 24 percent had laptops so that's an enormous increase," says UIC Professor Steve Jones.
And the numbers will continue to grow as students and schools key in on the pluses. "I can put up a website and they can all access it," says Queen of Peace physics teacher Karen Amador. "I like taking notes better on the computer and it's an easier way to organize and make everything neat," says Nicole Fosco, a Queen of Peace student.
Less books and more technology. So, yes, it's changed the dynamics of a classroom in ways no one ever imagined. "One of my friends, I passed her a note and she said why don't you just e-mail me? everyone just does that now," says student Mairead McGlinchey. Then there are the games. We caught one student in the middle of class busy with a game -- Minesweeper. "Sometimes I play them but I know everybody does," says one student.
"I'm not going to lie. I do, but when it's time to pay attention in class you have to or you are going to fall behind," says student Veronika Miranda.
At a UIC college Class one professor asked two students to stop e-mailing each other until they explained: "My friend is newly arrived in the country and I've been translating your lectures. I said, in that case, bring back the laptops," said UIC professor Jones.
If you're wondering about the cost, it's certainly not cheap, but the payoff, school administrators say, is worth it. "It's not an extravagance. It's a need. So it's not going away and it's an increased cost," says Principal Kathleen Hanlon. And the school has put a lot of money into the program -- about a half a million dollars. And they've thought of everything right down to the cases for these laptops. "We like the idea that this case held more in line with the body rather than horizontal," said the school's technology director Irene Halko.
And with the laptops and cases comes a new way for parents to keep track of grades. This system--Edline--can update grades weekly. "It's useful. Of course, there are things you don't want your parents to know about," says student Veronika Miranda.
The school has also had to make some adjustments: More locker space, a computer maintenance class for student, and a spot to fix those broken computers.
The only complaint from students: "Just being heavy and it getting in the way."
But that's not stopping them. They're more than happy that their school is high tech all the way.
Copyright © 2008, WGN-TV
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