Laptop Initiative

February 13, 2005

Hays High laptop initiative draws inquisitive school districts

DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

Hays Daily News

School districts around the country are interested in how a school the size of Hays High School can manage a one-on-one computer initiative where every student has the use of a laptop for the school year. Hays High administration and staff welcome the questions for two reasons. They want to help other schools see that it is worth taking that daring step. And as they answer those questions, it gives them a chance to evaluate where they are in their process. Because the computer technology lease agreement for the school district was coming up in 2004, the district made the decision to go with laptops at the high school beginning last fall. Last week, a group of about 25 people from the school district in Cambridge, Neb., visited Hays High to learn more about the one-on-one project. The Cambridge group was the third to do so this year - and at least three more visits from schools from three different states are scheduled for this spring. Hays High, with an enrollment of about 950, is the largest school in Kansas to have all four grades using laptops. Every student at enrollment was issued an Apple iBook. The Hays district chose Apple over the Windows operating system partly because of the technical support package Apple included. Now, Apple is using Hays High as an example to others. "What Apple is telling those schools is that if you want to see how the instructional side works, go to Hays, Kan.," said Mike Hester, principal at Hays High. Hester said Hays High has learned a lot from what other schools are asking. "We reflect, and it makes our people stop and think about what we're doing," he said. "When they do, they start thinking about how far we've come in one semester." Cambridge, whose enrollment in grades nine through 12 is about 100, received a $50,000 private donation for the purpose of getting every student in the high school the use of his or her own computer. "Cambridge has a very pro-active board; members are really interested in technology," said Cinde Wendell, superintendent of both the Cambridge and Arapahoe districts. "So we really had a good push from our board to do this." Wendell, who was accompanied to Hays by principals, teachers, board members, community members and technology coordinators, said it was well worth the trip. "They gave us great ideas of what we should do and let us know what the roadblocks are, too," Wendell said. "Everyone was so open and honest." Tom Albers, an assistant principal at HHS, was one of several panel members who answered questions at the end of the day. He told the Cambridge contingent about some of the problems that have cropped up this year, including one with students spending too much time on iChat. "We didn't realize how gifted the kids would be," he said. "We wanted to micromanage it, because we think that's what we should do. "But we learned that you can't," Albers said, telling how when the administration blocked iChat, students found a way to break the code and get back into it. "We're going from 'How do you prevent this?' to 'How are we going to maintain and control?' " Albers added. Diane Mason, an English teacher at HHS, said she learned not to let the computers scare her and to discipline students in much the same way as before. "What would you do if a kid was not paying attention to you in a (regular) class?" she asked as an example. HHS' technology staff answered questions from the Cambridge group ranging from "Why Apple over PCs?" to "What does a student do when his or her computer is in need of maintenance or repair?" Hays High has 30 backup computers on hand in its technology lab. Wendell said she was particularly impressed with the reactions from students. "Note-taking is easier on the laptops, and my GPA has gone up this year," said Whitney Hoffman, a senior. "I think it's more in-depth learning because you can get online right away if you need to research something," added Kelsey Moran, a junior. Another senior, Haylee Vitztum, told the audience how having a computer at her fingertips has helped her on sports trips out of town, giving her the opportunity to work on her assignments on the road. "You don't have to wait on assignments," she said. "You can e-mail your teachers and then work on the assignments on the bus." "I think expectations of the teachers have changed," Moran said, and because of it, "(students) are more responsible." In addition to classwork, Hays High has used the laptops for numerous other programs this year, including voting for homecoming king and queen, keeping attendance and checking grades. The HHS Web team maintains the school's Internet site, which includes calendars and schedules, information about staff, athletics, academics, organizations and even a link for school alumni. "If you would have asked me at the beginning of the year how our school culture would change because of these, I don't know what I would have said," Hester said. "... the way we think about linking sites and the efficiency of linking sites now is amazing." Bob Kuhn, a school board member present during the discussion, was not on the board when it voted to go with the laptop initiative. However, he had taught for nearly 30 years in the Hays district and thinks it was time to take that step forward. "Our goal as a district is to be on the cutting edge, and if you wait until all your parameters are lined up, you'll never do it," Kuhn said. "Having the teachers and students learn together isn't all bad." Loren VonLintel, instructional technology coordinator at HHS, smiled when asked what some of the biggest problems he has faced. "It's actually a problem of the day," he said. But, VonLintel and other panel members agreed, they have decided to use each of those problems as a learning tool. "We have a list of things to add to the policies for next year," Hester said. "And we talk about something daily. ... We're all learning, but I think the students are the real winners. "It's training them responsibility and citizenship in a technological age," he said, "because that's their tomorrow."

Reporter Diane Gasper-O'Brien can be reached at (785) 628-1081, ext. 126, or by e-mail at dobrien@dailynews.net.