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Dinwiddie 9th- and 10th-graders will take tablets to class [The Progress-Index, Petersburg, Va. :: ](Progress-Index (Petersburg, VA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 31--DINWIDDIE -- Ninth- and 10th-graders at Dinwiddie High School will be going digital this year when they receive tablets for the new school year. Timothy Ampy, director of technology for Dinwiddie County Public Schools, said the school will be receiving 836 Asus Transformer Book T100 tablets for freshmen and sophomore students in order to begin phasing out textbooks and better preparing students for post-high school life. "It allows teachers to expand the ways they can present material. It gives students the needed access to technology that they may not have at home," Gregory K. McCammon, a member of Dinwiddie's School Board, said. "This will give high school-age children the capability to work on their own at home [if they share with others in their home]." Dinwiddie High School was one of 81 schools that qualified for the Virginia Department of Education program known as the Virginia e-Learning Backpack Initiative. It was proposed by former Gov. Bob McDonnell in 2013 and was passed that same year by the General Assembly. "Qualifying schools are those schools with ninth-graders that administered [Standards Of Learning] tests in spring 2013 and are not fully accredited based on school accreditation ratings in effect for fiscal year 2014," Mark R. Saunders, VDOE educational technology specialist, said. Funding for the program comes from the Virginia Public School Authority, which pays for 80 percent of the cost of tablets. Eligible schools are able to apply for a supplemental grant that pays for the tablets. The VDOE website stated the grant is for $400 per student. Schools also receive $2,400 grant for training teachers in content management for the tablets. The other 20 percent of the costs are to be paid for by the school for teacher training. Dinwiddie school officials had applied and been approved for grants in 2013, but according McCammon, they did not use those funds. The total amount of funds the schools have now for initiative, he said, is $391,222.92, which explains why the system able to give tablets to both ninth- and 10th-grade students. Dwayne Spurlock Sr.'s daughter, Kiamani Spurlock, going into 10th grade. He said he is grateful the school is going in this direction. "She already has exposure at home, but using these devices in school will keep her pretty much ahead of the curve," Spurlock said. Nicolas Benitez, a rising sophomore at DHS, said the new tablets will lighten the weight of his backpack. "I think it's going to be much, much better for my bookbag because my bookbag last year was really heavy from all of the textbooks," Benitez said. "But this year, I'll have all my textbooks in that one tablet so it'll be more convenient and easier to use. I think with the tablets, kids will be more into reading because it's a new technology. I think it can help people's grades," Meetings for parents and students were held Aug. 19, 20 and 21 at Dinwiddie High School to explain the rules and guidelines for student conduct with the tablets. According to Christie Clarke, director of staff development and instructional technology, students are to bring their tablets with them to class at all times. Forgotten tablets and misuse of the devices will result in disciplinary action. Parents have the option for a $33 one-year protection insurance. However, if problems with the tablet occur parents need to take it to they school system and not a third party. If they do so, Clarke said, the warranty will be voided. Clarke also added that because only ninth- and 10th-grade students are being provided these devices, juniors and seniors will be allowed to bring their own electronic devices, such as laptops, tablets and smartphones, to school. Internet at Dinwiddie High School is filtered and social media is blocked, so Clarke said students should not have access to them. Teachers will not be limited to the tablets, but they are receiving training on implementation of the devices the classroom. "It is up to the teachers on how they want to use them," Clarke said. Hopewell High School and Petersburg High School were also on the list of eligible schools. Charles Pyle, director of communications at VDOE, said Hopewell had been approved for $139,200. Hopewell will receive 350 KUNO Tablets during the second quarter of the school year on Nov. 3, Brian Capaldo, communication specialist for Hopewell City Public Schools, said. "We hope to foster young people's ability to learn how to access information quickly and apply that knowledge in the classroom and beyond. It is less about the technology and more about how to make our classrooms a more stimulating place for our students to learn," Capaldo said. Petersburg High School is eligible for $128,800, but Pyle said the division has not applied. Tri-Cities schools are not the only schools to use digital innovation in the classroom. Schools in Chesterfield and Henrico County have passed initiatives to give students laptops in elementary, middle and high school. Tammy McGraw, director of digital innovations and outreach at VDOE, said the move to a more digital classroom is a part of new requirements for Virginia high school students to graduate. Students now must take one virtual course to be eligible for graduation. "Ideally, by choosing ninth grade, the students would go through their high school career having a tablet computer," McGraw said. The other benefit to the e-Learning Backpack Initiative is closing what is known as a "digital divide" in which people with access to Internet and other technological resources perform better than those without it. "One of the goals is to level the playing field. Schools that have difficulties purchasing tablets and other resources would be able to take advantage of this program and provide those devices to students," Pyle said. "It's something we're seeing across the country, that move from textbooks to a digital format, and it's something we want all of our high schools in Virginia to be a part of." Dinwiddie and Hopewell school officials said students will not need Internet access at home to use the tablets. Timothy Ampy, director of technology in Dinwiddie, said textbooks will be uploaded to the tablets. In Hopewell, Capaldo said that rules have not been finalized, but initially students will leave tablets at home. - Amir Vera may be reached at [email protected] or 804-722-5155. ___ (c)2014 The Progress-Index (Petersburg, Va.) Visit The Progress-Index (Petersburg, Va.) at www.progress-index.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |