Image by Jennifer Hur

Freshman Blain Hendrix works on his school-issued laptop. The Class of 2013 was one of many future freshman classes to receive Dell laptops for school use. Students can access their work through google.docs, making collaboration much easier.

As students continue into the 21st century, it becomes more imperative for students to learn how to use technology. The RRISD school board started their plan to teach students to learn how to use technology at school back in September 2012.

The RRISD High School Laptop Initiative provides all ninth grade students at McNeil and Round Rock high schools with a laptop for school use. The goal of the initiative is to teach students to use appropriate learning technologies that support academic achievement.

“We hope to increase students’ 21st century skills such as analyzing information and addressing complex problems,” Assistant Principal Courtney Swindle said. “We also hope that this will allow for better communication between students and teachers.”

In addition to being used in the classroom for educational use, the laptops will also be used for End Of Course (STAAR) testing in May. In accordance with the testing, the laptops will be taken up in April to ensure that the school will have enough laptops for testing.

Before receiving their laptop, the students and parents had to attend an informational meeting where district employees were on hand to explain the process and answer questions. At the meeting, they discussed responsibilities of students with their laptop. These include keeping the batteries charged and attending MHS Student Training Sessions. Students also had the opportunity to purchase a protective case for their laptop from the district for about $19.

The class of 2016 students received instruction on how to use Google Docs on Jan. 23-24 during their math classes.

The hope is to continue the trend of providing laptops for freshman in future years as well.