Barron (WQOW) - Area
students are firing up recycled computers and putting them to good use. The Barron School
District was awarded a grant from the Department
of Defense that's allowed them to use some of the agency's old laptops.
In the Barron School District,
backpacks are being replaced by computer bags.
"Every student in
grades 7-12, during the day in their classes, will have a computer at their
fingertips," said Monti Hallberg, Barron District Administrator.
For the most part, students will be
using laptops instead of books this year.
"We are moving
towards a textbook free environment. We're not there yet, but soon we will no
longer have textbooks in your backpack. You'll have everything, it'll be
online, and in the form of a computer you'll be able to read those textbooks,"
Hallberg said.
Thanks to a grant, over 250 laptops that had been used by the Department of Defense were wiped clean
and put in the hands of students.
"Anyone who
graduates high school right now who is not an avid user of technology, they're
going to have a disadvantage going out into the workforce. I think going
online, being able to communicate online, looking for information...this world
is a changing world, and I think we are preparing our students for what's
coming up in the 21st century," said Hallberg.
Students at Barron High
School have only had access to the laptops now
for about two weeks, but they say they've already seen a big improvement.
"You can type in
your code and you are linked to your class. So there are examples on there, the
answer sheet after you finish your assignment. It really helps that we have all
that help so that when the teacher is busy with other students, we have some
online help as well," said Barron
High School student
Chehalis Rodriguez.
"It just helps you
so much. It helps you to stay more organized, because you just pull up the
document and there's everything you've been working on. There's no paper to
fall out or losing your page in your book. It's all right there on your
computer," said Sarah Nichols, also a Barron High School
student.
The laptops are about two to three
years old. Students can take them home to work on assignments.
