Fifth-graders in Riverside Public School District 96 will get a laptop this year, and they will keep it until the eighth grade. This district of almost 1,400 students does not include a high school, but many students will enter laptop programs when they attend high school in another district.

Elizabeth Whaley, a faculty member at Hauser Junior High School, is heading up the one-to-one laptop initiative for the district. She explained to a local reporter that research has shown laptop programs improve writing and technology skills. She expects additional benefits as well, including "an opportunity for kids to have great access to current information."

Students won't be taking the computers home immediately, according to Whaley. "It will take time to make sure we have security in place to protect their kids and knowledge for parents and students on how to handle the laptop at home," she explains.

In the meantime, the incoming fifth graders are excited about the prospects. Sophia Bolton, for example, is thrilled that she can stop bothering her parents and look up the definition of words by herself. "I think it is a step forward to growing up," she says. "In college, you need to get a computer or laptop. We are being prepared for our future to come."

Source: Mysuburbanlife.com, Students to receive laptops for school year, by Janice Hoppe