EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WZZM)- East Grand Rapids Public Schools will soon require laptops or iPads in their high school. It's a program that may be met with controversy. But, the district says it's the only way to provide the best education for their students.
The laptops won't replace textbooks, but it will be used as an additional tool in the classroom. "They can get together online far more easily than they ever could when they were working with just pens and paper," says Heather McKinney-Rewa. She teaches English at EGR High School. She has one of the districts twelve pilot classrooms, where computers are used as tools for learning. The students still read books. But, in the classroom, they answer questions about the story online and discuss it as a group. Even outside the classroom, the students use them for homework.
"That's the real world. That's how students work. So, we're trying to create that real world environment for our students, and one of those tools we see that will assist students is the laptop, netbook, ipad, you name it," says EGRPS Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, Jeanne Glowicki.
Students will have four options. They can use a laptop they already have at home, rent a laptop from the school, purchase a laptop from the school, or there will be a scholarship program for those who can't afford one.
The district wants everyone to be able to have a laptop. They think the best way to do that is to share the cost. Students buy or lease the laptop and the district invests in the infrastructure and staff training.
EGRPS looked at the three other Michigan school districts that require laptops in the classroom. On the East side of the state, Detroit Country Day and Walled Lake. In West Michigan, Holland Christian. By the 2014-2015 school year, all East Grand Rapids Schools from 3rd to 12th grades, will require laptops in the classroom.
By Sarah Sell