Loras for Literacy. a community-focused program funded through a gift from the Verizon Foundation, recently provided third-graders at Holy Ghost Elementary with 21 ThinkPad laptops and peripheral devices. Facilitated by the Education Division at Loras College, a Catholic Liberal Arts college, the new laptop program encourages a constructivist learning approach and problem-based learning to provide meaningful learning opportunities for students.

The technology-enhanced classroom at Holy Ghost is a unique venture. Most Loras for Literacy programs focus on more traditional reading intervention strategies. Holy Ghost, for example, also has an after-school reading program through Loras for Literacy. In fact, teachers report that many parents were initially concerned about the untraditional approach of laptops. Their children’s enthusiasm and the progress they have made academically has erased their worries, however.

The Verizon Foundation grant for Loras for Literacy is in its final year, but Dale Blesz, program director, anticipates public and private funding to continue the project.

Source : Telegraph Herald, 2/18/08, “Students Receive Education Upgrade”