Barnet School Embraces Digital Age

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Created on Wednesday, 02 October 2013 21:49

Written by Kevin Kelleher

BARNET - Equal opportunity for our youth in an educational setting is a goal that both parents and teachers should strive for. With technology on the rise, and the economy struggling to make a come back, student’s families may not have the funds to provide their children with the technology they might need.

The Barnet School in Vermont is taking action. The school started a 1:1 program just 4 years ago, embracing technology in hopes of equal educational opportunities for the students. 1-to-1 programs provide students with laptops just the same as if they were given a history or a science book.

The school's technology integrationist Melissa Bushey talked to me about the advantages of having a program like this, challenges the school had along the way, and how the program has progressed since it was first started.

Melissa said that the school’s intent was to “create equal access for all students,” but this wasn’t the only accomplishment resulting from the start of the program. Creating a web-based platform for students and teachers enabled the ability to give assignments as well as receive them via the Internet. Because of this, the school has significantly cut back on the amount of paper being used.

Students differ from one-another when it comes to retaining information; some prefer a lecture, some hands-on experiments, and others from various visuals. Melissa explained that the program “addresses different learning needs among students.”

The students are given Macbook Airs, but the schools program used to operate on Netbooks. Melissa said that the “new laptops allow for more creativity.” Also, it just happened to be a move the school could make because of a lease agreement that they had with Apple.

One of the problems with handing a seventh or eighth grader a laptop is being able to take care of it properly. “The kids are handed more responsibility,” Melissa said. The parents are also a huge part of the process as they are asked to attend a mandatory meeting every year to discuss, review, and sign an agreement for the Student Laptop Loan. They are encouraged to help out and remind their kids of the way the laptop is to be treated and handled. The school also provides a case for the laptop to be carried in.

There will always be the issue of keeping the students from being on sites they shouldn’t be on, or goofing around on the laptop during a class. The school has taken steps towards preventing these occurrences. Melissa explained that the school Internet has a firewall to block most of the sites the students should not be using. The classrooms have also been rearranged so that the teacher can more easily keep an eye on what the students are doing. Melissa and the school also decided it was best to purchase Apple Remote Desktop. This application allows administrators such as Melissa to see exactly what her students are up too at any given time if they are using the schools network.

1-to1 programs such as this provide students with an enhanced and equal opportunity to learn in the new digital age.