November 2007 — News
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Kansas School District Rolls Out 1:1 MacBook Program
The new laptops, purchased over the summer, are running Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). The district does hold licenses for the latest version of Mac OS X (Leopard) and will likely upgrade the systems the next time they're collected for reissue.
In addition to the stock iLife applications that come with the MacBooks, other creative applications may be given out to students who are in classes that would benefit from them. These would include Apple Final Cut Studio (for students in video production classes) and Adobe Photoshop. For everyday productivity, the machines are loaded with Microsoft Office.
There are other reasons the district went with Mac systems for its 1:1 initiative besides their creative capabilities, Smith explained. "Apple seems to have spent a lot of time thinking how to integrate their technology with education ... with teaching and learning. They've provided us with tremendous support." This support included having 15 Apple representatives on hand at various distribution sites on the days the laptops were handed out to students to help answer questions for parents, show students how to log in, etc.
The district's middle and elementary schools, which do not yet have 1:1 programs, but have about three computers per classroom, are mixed computing environments (Macs and Windows-based PCs).
Hurdles to Implementation
The process of getting the 1:1 program in place did have its hurdles. Funding, of course, is an issue for a poor district. But, surprisingly, there was also some skepticism on the part of the community--not about which laptops to choose or whether a laptop program would impact achievement positively, but concerns about the students themselves. Alarmingly, among some members of the community, there was "skepticism about whether the kids could handle it," Smith said. There were even suggestions that the students might sell the computers to buy drugs--a suggestion very publicly voiced by a DJ on a local radio station.
However, trust in the students won over in the end.
"Giving laptops to poor kids is believing in them," Smith said. "It means going the extra mile. We think our kids are worth it, and they deserve it."
Like all laptop programs, the KCKPS 1:1 initiative was developed with security in mind. Students sign acceptable use policies, and a number of security technologies are built into the machines, rendering them useless should they be stolen or lost. In the event of theft, the MacBooks can be disabled remotely. They also have tracking capabilities built in and tags that make them easily identifiable should they be stolen and put up for sale.
Funding, surprisingly, was not as much of an issue as it could have been. Smith said the program will cost the district about $1.6 million annually, but the funds are coming out of the capital outlay budget, which is also used for the renovation of physical facilities, such as athletic fields.
