Goodbye, desktops! Hello, laptops!

by Emily Reichard, reporter

This year Jim Thorpe High School will be taking another step forward in the technological world by giving every student his or her own laptop. The school plans on distributing them within the first few weeks of school. They believe that this will be a good way to “even the playing field” and that it will allow every student the access to the same technology.

“Project Ole,” or “Olympian One-to-One Learning Environment,” is the school’s new program that will allow each student to have a Macbook for him or herself. Earlier in the year, the school had received a grant to complete this project. The program’s main goals are to prepare students for a world where technology is used daily, to allow students to communicate and collaborate, and to give every student the access to the same technology. The school is very proud to incorporate this program. However, some students in Jim Thorpe High School think otherwise.

“It’s a nice idea in theory. However, in actuality, I feel the complications of the program will outweigh the benefits. I also feel that the school should have kept a few desktops for computer classes, like Graphic Design, that have assignments that laptops will make more difficult to complete,” says an anonymous Jim Thorpe High School Senior.

It was stated at the meeting before school had started that the laptops will eventually replace all textbooks and that teachers will be able to assign lessons and schoolwork on the laptops. The problem of a student not having an internet connection at home will no longer be a issue since students will be able to download lessons and assignments before they leave to go home. This will allow them to access it even without an internet connection. Students would even be able to work on lessons even if they were absent for a day.

An anonymous Jim Thorpe High School Sophomore says, “It will be better because I could be absent, and I could still get some work done.”

The school hopes that the program will benefit students in many ways. They hope to improve students’ critical thinking, decision-making, and problem solving skills with the program, as well as improving their information fluency and research habits.

“When it is ready to go, I think it’ll be good for us students with responsibility and doing work,” Autumn Michlovsky, a Jim Thorpe High School Junior, says.

Despite the allure of having their own laptops, some students feel that it will not impact their schooling in any way, while others feel that it will have its drawbacks. This year will be more complicated since it is the first year the program will be used. This year the school will need to work out any problems in the program that they may encounter along the way. The school has already delayed the distribution of the laptops due to the late arrival of the cases, and there will be hours of downloading software required after the laptops are distributed. Some classes have even been forced to delay assignments since the students do not have the laptops yet, and they do not have access to any desktops.

An anonymous Jim Thorpe High School Senior says, “It is honestly looking like it will be a disappointment.”

The program, which has all good intentions, is off to a slow start. How successful it is will have to wait to be seen.

 

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