Tech Takes the Lead
By
Katie Mashburn and Megan Bates
Eighth grader Jamie Amato hears the trumpet sound on the intercom, and after saying the morning prayer, she opens her laptop, ready to surf the net for a project in Ms. Erin Dempsey’s (‘00) World Geography class. Next, she flips through virtual pages on the World Wide Web looking for heroes and legends.
When the bell rings, she reaches for her laptop’s case, marked by a brown ribbon with pink polka-dots and an ID tag bearing her name. Later during I.S., Jamie checks the assignments she wrote in her GoBinder--her desktop binder--and then attacks her homework. At lunch, she treats herself to a quick game of solitaire.
Just as it has for Jamie, a new tool commands school life for all of Chapelle’s freshmen and eighth graders. The Lenovo Tablet ThinkPad, with stylus, has transformed everyday learning at Chapelle into 1:1 computer learning.
Chips Move Into Next Century
As a whole, students are enthusiastic about the new tablet
personal computers. They view the computer as an easy way to store their notes
and to do their homework. “It definitely helps me keep everything organized,”
said freshman Colette Childress. “If you need to look up something on the
internet, it’s right there.”
Also, students prefer the tablets to traditional textbooks and notebooks, for they make their backpacks lighter. “It’s easier because you don’t have to carry around as many books and notebooks,” said eighth grader Mikella Sorensen. “You just have your laptop as your notebook for most classes.”
Adjusting to Hi-tech Demands
Both students and faculty members are accepting the challenge of new technology.
Teachers are learning to incorporate the tablet computers into their everyday lessons and projects. “There has been a cooperative effort among teachers,” said Assistant Principal of Staff Development Mrs. Cathy Yaeger.
Mrs. Yaeger said that before the 2007- 2008 school year started, some teachers went through training for using the ThinkPads at an Archdiocesan Summer Institute. Teachers were introduced to different programs and trained to handle common laptop issues.
Eighth and ninth grade teachers have
been leaders in phasing in 1:1 learning. The class activities in Ms. Marla
Chapotel’s Dynamics and World Geography classes, for example, have been
expanded. Ms. Chapotel’s students use tablets for interactive online quizzes,
journal writing and PowerPoint project presentations. To Ms. Chapotel, “The
tablet computers are perfect for the kinesthetic learning style, enhancing and
promoting education.”
A new technology class is now offered during second I.S. In this elective, Technology Director Ms. Christine Sanderson teaches students from every grade level how to assemble and disassemble a computer, how to install Windows and how to diagnose and fix malfunctions. The goals of this class are to familiarize students with technology and to help them make repairs.
Last April, Mrs. Elizabeth Besselman Campbell (‘90) was chosen to help with the incoming eighth and ninth graders’ computers. Along with Ms. Sanderson and librarians Mrs. Kathy Marie LeMay Klapatch (‘69) and Mrs. Margaret Daley, Mrs. Campbell helps troubleshoot laptop problems.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans wanted to increase the use of technology in schools and recommended the Lenovo Tablet computer. The Lenovo PC was the natural choice for students, according to Archbishop Chapelle High School President Mrs. Jane Ann Kuckelman Frosch (‘74). “Since all of our faculty members received Lenovo Tablet computers through the Office of Catholic Schools, we made the decision to use the same computer for our students, so that the entire school would be on the same basic platform,” said Mrs. Frosch.
Mrs. Frosch would like Chapelle to emerge as a leader and role model in educational technology. She and the Chapelle Administrative Team feel the tablet enhances the curriculum and also increases the students’ awareness of technology, which is vital to competing in today’s hi-tech world.
Laptop learning also gives students the best tool they can have for a future of learning. “Putting computers into the hands of every student through the 1:1 computing program prepares them to face the challenges of competing in a global economy,” said Mrs. Frosch. “The concept is that the students have their computers available to them anytime, anywhere.”
The tablets have livened up
freshman and eighth grade classes, and Mrs. Frosch hopes to distribute tablets to
the sophomores during the second semester.
This year at Chapelle’s Open House, technology will be the main focus. There will be eighth and ninth graders demonstrating how they use laptops in each subject. Tablet computers also will take center stage in department and club displays for Open House on October 23, 2007.