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Sunday, August 23, 2015

Worcester Schools’ Digital Conversion Efforts Continue; All Freshmen To Receive Laptops Next Month

BERLIN – The dates for the county’s ninth-graders to get their new laptops are officially set.

With deployment dates identified as Sept. 2 at Stephen Decatur High School, Sept. 3 at Snow Hill High School and Sept. 10 at Pocomoke High School, the school system is just weeks away from launching the digital conversion that will provide every ninth-grader with a laptop they will keep with them all through high school.

As laptops are being unpacked and labeled, teachers are busy preparing for the change. Stephen Decatur High School teacher Brian Phillips is sharing ideas on how teachers can make the most of the new devices with a series of workshops.

“Everybody is trying to play a hand in supporting the movement,” he said.

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16 comments:

Anonymous said...

More ways to track students and so they can turn on web cams ro spy on kids...

Anonymous said...

Mean, in Wicomico County, we still have school where the teachers don't have access to copiers and have to wait a day or two to get classroom materials back from the BOE.

Anonymous said...

Quick fix = little square of electrical tape over the camera.

Anonymous said...

And will they learn more? they cannot add or multiply now. Will this help them to write or spell, subtract or divide. They cannot do simple basics now. THERE GO MORE OF MY TAX DOLLARS

Anonymous said...

there is no way laptops for students will last all through high school. My four children have gone through many different laptops over the years. 14 of the to be exact.

Anonymous said...

Maybe your children should be taught to respect their and your property. It is no different than school books, you lose it or destroy it, you bought it. BTW, there are many school districts that issue laptops to every student in HS.

Anonymous said...

Laptops (and tablets) are dirt cheap. Try closing some county libraries and see how much funding suddenly becomes available. How is a laptop + internet any different from a library in capability for the student?

The librarian jobs are numbered just as the bank teller jobs are numbered (teleconferencing technologies).

Anonymous said...

Could Wicomico do this for their students? NO, they are too busy buying buses to get back at the bus contractors because they think that they make too much money.

Anonymous said...

Agreed, 14 laptops? Sounds like some spoiled and careless brats.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Laptops (and tablets) are dirt cheap. Try closing some county libraries and see how much funding suddenly becomes available. How is a laptop + internet any different from a library in capability for the student?

The librarian jobs are numbered just as the bank teller jobs are numbered (teleconferencing technologies).

August 19, 2015 at 7:15 PM

They are not dirt cheap and they don't last long. I don't know where you think they are dirt cheap, but since they are, according to you, then maybe you should buy them for us.

Anonymous said...

I'll put a bet out there that 40% of them will be disappeared by the end of the school year by students with parents that won't be able to pay the restitution.

40% at LEAST!

Anonymous said...

"Laptops (and tablets) are dirt cheap. Try closing some county libraries and see how much funding suddenly becomes available. How is a laptop + internet any different from a library in capability for the student?"

I find it interesting how many people think a computer and the internet can replace a librarian. Did your calculator replace your accountant? Does an internet legal website replace your lawyer?

Librarians have the same educational requirements as these two professions, yet no one calls for the demise of lawyers or accountants. People who say these kinds of things need to visit a library and talk to the people who they think could be replaced by a laptop.

As for the funding question - in Wicomico County each person would get about $23 for the year - try using that to buy a laptop and pay for internet.

Andrea Berstler
Executive Director
Wicomico Public Libraries

Anonymous said...

5:38
Technology is making people stupid. It's sad.

Anonymous said...

Kids will not take care of these. They don't take care of the books. How do you make a parent pay for something they can't afford to buy themselves for the kids.

Anonymous said...

You will have low life parents either using the laptop or selling it to make a quick buck. They don't care and like anything else in schools there will be no consequences.

Anonymous said...

Let's see. The County raised taxes this year because they couldn't fund all the budget requests, including the annual outrageous request by the BOE. The BOE responds, when they couldn't get EVERYTHING they asked for (mostly pay raises), by laying off lower ranking employees so that the REST could get pay raises. Now the BOE buys all the students laptops. Spending is always out of control when the BOE is spending someone else's money.