Cape parents get first look at new laptop devices

About 100 people got a firsthand look Tuesday night at the new convertible laptop devices the Cape Girardeau Public School District will be rolling out to students in January.

The first of two parent meetings was held at the Richard D. Kinder Performance Hall and the commons area of Central High School.

Depending on their student's last name, attendees were presented the rationale behind the district's 1:1 initiative of putting an ASUS Transformer Book into the hands of all high school students, then saw -- and worked with -- the device for themselves, or vice versa.

The district ordered 1,300 ASUS devices -- about 1,200 for students and 100 for teachers -- for an estimated $520,000. Those 100 devices for teachers already have been delivered and teachers are being trained on them, officials said.

The bulk of the devices will arrive about the middle of this month, computer technician David Pepon said. The rollout will be Jan. 7. A district news release said the lower grades will receive devices beginning in the 2014-15 school year, starting with the eighth grade, move throughout the district over time.

Ron Farrow, instructional technology specialist, said students will be trained next semester.

Speaking to the audience at the performing arts hall, Central High School principal Mike Cowan said the meeting is meant to bring parents into the loop to help make the transition as successful as possible.

"We are teaching students and preparing them for careers that do not even exist yet, so we have to make them gatherers of knowledge; we have to make them researchers, problem solvers" and be creative, said assistant superintendent for academic services Sherry Copeland said. " ... We want them to own their learning" and have teachers be facilitators to help students "reach heights they never knew they could reach."

With 1:1, kids will be able to ask more questions of teachers without being embarrassed. Parents and students will be able to view lessons through Moodle, a learning management platform.

According to the presentation, Cape Girardeau public schools have established an optional $25 use and repair annual fee designed to insure the students' device up to $400 (the full value of the computer), cover out-of-warranty repairs and alleviate some of the financial burden on families for device maintenance and repairs.

If the use and repair fee isn't paid, Farrow said, there will be a $100 fee to repair device in-house or replace it. It would also pay the use and repair fee for the rest of the year.

Pepon said a help desk will be established at the high school to fix any issues the devices might have. A centralized location is being considered, but the library is an option, he said.

Moving toward 1:1 started in spring 2012, when the district began researching the project.

Scott McClanahan has a daughter who is a junior at Central High School and a son in college.

"I think it's kind of neat to have the advancement," McClanahan said. "Having a college student, it reminds me of what's expected at the next level.

"One of the biggest advantages I see is up-to-date information for the kids," he added.

Anthony Petty, who attended with his daughter, Demiesha, said the device gives students a chance to learn typing and computers and focus more on learning instead of being distracted by their peers.

The computers will eliminate the need for paper and pencils, as well.

However, Petty said there are cons.

"There could be a lot of thievery going on [and] and carelessness," Petty said. "Siblings may be tampering with them."

He said there should be no eating or drinking around the computers, and they could be damaged in a book bag. Petty endorses keeping the devices in a designated area. "Overall, I think it will be a good thing," he said, and may teach kids more responsibility.

The presentation showed the devices will be engraved with a school district marking for additional security, and that all devices are content-filtered even at home so inappropriate material online cannot be accessed.

Home Internet access is encouraged, but not required. So if a student needs something, he or she can download it at school, and it will be available on the laptop at home.

Jennifer Crawford, whose daughter is a junior at Central, was trying out an ASUS for herself. "This is basically an iPad with a keyboard attached to it," Crawford said.

"I think it makes sense to incorporate technology where you can. ... Kids are going to be using this throughout their lives as it evolves," she said.

Karyn Hester, attending with her daughter, Tara, said she thinks the initiative is awesome.

"There are so many options," Hester said. "You can do research [and] reports," plus kids don't have to carry a lot of books around.

"I think it's better than textbooks," said Tara.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639