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EDITORIAL: Laptop initiative keeps students at top of the classSep 12, 2010 (The Daily Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- It's good to see our schools stay at the top of the class and the Farmington School District's laptop initiative is helping our schools do just that. As the biggest initiative in the state, about 5,100 students from sixth through 12th grade have their own laptops. And although there have been some kinks along the way -- figuring out how to keep our kids safe on the web and accidents involving damaged computers -- the benefit outweighs the risks. Robert Emerson, the assistant superintendent of technology and assessment, said that although there is no conclusive data available to show whether test scores have improved since handing out the laptops, students definitely have changed the way they think about school. He said more teachers are allowing students to use their creative skills when working on projects and in turn the students get more out of their assignments. "The kids get to do work, and because of the tools we give them, the work is of a higher quality than what they would normally do," Emerson said. Because the work is higher quality, more students are proud of their work and want to show off their projects to their peers and teachers, which helps create excitement about school. Emerson said that the schools are finding that the staff who are able to admit to their students that they don't have all the answers and challenge students to find the answers are having more success in the classroom. "The students are participating in their own education in a way they have never done before," he said. We're glad that despite the kinks, that the majority of students are using their laptops for the right reasons and gaining important educational tools from the program. We encourage more teachers to relinquish their egos and trust that their students can get creative when searching for homework solutions. Anything we can do to help students move forward on their educational path is a plus and we applaud the Farmington School District for taking a chance on providing expensive equipment to benefit the lives of our children. To see more of The Daily Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.daily-times.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Daily Times, Farmington, N.M. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). |