Cody, Wyoming, is expanding its middle school laptop program to grades nine through 11. Plans had originally called for phasing in the high school grades one at a time, but the timetable did not work for students in mixed-grade classrooms.

“We did some fact finding and any time a school tried to do the one-grade approach they had little success,” school district technology director Jim Heath said. “Most students are in mixed classes and in those instances laptops wouldn't be used much in class. We just wouldn't get the bang for our buck.”

So, instead, the district will add 600 laptops to equip next year’s sixth, 10 th and 11 th graders. This year’s sixth, seventh and eighth graders will bring their laptops with them as they move into grades 7-9. The purchase more than doubles the number of students in the one-to-one program from their current 500 in the middle school grades.

Because the district is purchasing so many new laptops at once, they were able to negotiate a substantial discount. “We basically got the 11th grade at no cost because of the cost break,” Heath said. The district decided that equipping the upcoming seniors for a single year would be too expensive. Instead, seniors will have access to 75 school laptops and four fixed computer labs, and they can bring in their own laptops to use in classes.

Each student will use the same laptop for about three years before being provided with a newer machine. Those older laptops will then go to the elementary schools, possibly for use in a ratio of one computer to three students.

Teachers are receiving professional development for integrating the laptops, but Heath expects them to find the teaching approach to be similar to what they have been using.

Source : Cody Enterprise, Program adds 600 laptops for Cody students next year