A few short years ago, it wasnโt uncommon for TUSD students to fire up a computer only to spend a good portion of the class period waiting for the aging technology to respond.
Today, Tucsonโs largest school district has mostly worked through those kinks and is preparing to launch a 1:1 laptop initiative at three of its campuses.
More than 1,300 laptops will be distributed to middle-schoolers at Booth-Fickett and Mansfeld, as well as to students in Palo Verde High Schoolโs STEM program in the fall.
The laptops, which are being purchased with desegregation funds, will propel students into a world where their lessons are literally at their fingertips, working collaboratively with their classmates on digital projects, submitting assignments in online dropboxes and responding to classroom discussions electronically, said TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez.
โItโs really trying to transition to what our world looks like,โ Sanchez said. โWeโre trying to get the kids ready for a new age of learning, which looks like the current workplace.โ
The three schools have strong science, technology, engineering and math focuses, making them the perfect candidates for the small-scale rollout of a 1:1 program, Sanchez said.
โWe want to see what learning will look like when every student has a laptop that is checked out to him or her like a textbook that they take home and bring back,โ he said, adding that the district will monitor what works, what doesnโt and how 1:1 computing can be implemented on other campuses.
The laptops were purchased for $1.3 million. In addition to the 1,300-plus laptops designated to the 1:1 initiative, another 600 computers were purchased to be split among 21 schools: Blenman, Bloom, Cragin, Davis, Dietz, Doolen, Erickson, Hollinger, McCorkle, Maxwell, Miller, Myers-Ganoung, Roberts-Naylor, Robins, Rose, Safford, Pueblo Garden, Pueblo, Wright and Steele.
Mobile computer carts, power strips and headphones were also part of the procurement. The purchase will bring those schools closer to a ratio of one laptop for every two students.
Just last month, the Governing Board approved spending $4.5 million to purchase 8,100 laptops and other equipment for 71 schools as part of the desegregation order.
The infusion of technology, along with a commitment to addressing network and bandwidth issues, has enabled the district to administer tests, including the state-required AzMERIT, on computers rather than on paper, said Scott Morrison, TUSDโs chief technology officer.
One TUSD school, McCorkle Academy of Excellence K-8, has been working toward becoming a 1:1 school over the last two years.
McCorkle middle-schoolers routinely collaborate on projects with their peers, using computers to work on an assignment simultaneously to conduct research and perform presentations. Teachers at McCorkle make the grading rubric available to students online to ensure they know what is needed to achieve a desired grade.
With 80-plus schools, TUSD is a long way away from being called a 1:1 district, but the progress is significant.
The new laptops will be rolled out in the fall once teachers have been trained on how to inject the technology into their lessons. Students will also need to be trained on how to properly care for the equipment and the responsibility of taking one home.
High school students will likely get home privileges before the younger students do, Sanchez said.
Considering the cost to roll out a 1:1 initiative on a small scale, Sanchez said the district will take a look at current spending, for example the cost of copies and workbooks, to identify what can be shifted to purchase technology for other schools.
But in todayโs environment of consistent education budget cuts, the only way to roll out the program on a broadscale would be through a bond, he said, adding that the district would not seek bond funding this year.
โThere is a desire by parents for more technology for their kids,โ Sanchez said. โWeโre really trying to prepare students for the new world reality.โ
