PS 101 students work on laptops provided by the school
Students at PS 101 are using more than pencils and paper for schoolwork these days.
Five classrooms at the Brooklyn elementary school are piloting a high tech program called "21st Century Classrooms," which gives every student his or her own laptop to use during school.
"Why read about life on a volcano when you can contact a school with students who live near a volcano and get their first hand experience?" said Principal Gregg Korrol, who said he believes the program will greatly add to learning in the classroom.
Students use the computers in a variety of ways, from learning how to blog to how to use the Internet for research.
"I learned how to save my work and have also learned how to use Microsoft Word," a fourth grader, Becky Zhong, said. "This is still hard for me but my teacher told the class that we will learn slowly. I bet everyone will be really good on the computer by the end of the year. I can’t wait to teach my parents how to use the computer."
Teachers are incorporating the laptops into their curriculum, using them for math drills, science experiments, and interactive research projects.
"Teaching the class is really interesting because the children already have an interest in computers," fourth grade teacher Joanna Siroka said. "Now, they are learning how to incorporate something they love into their everyday education."
The pilot program will last for one year, and the school hopes to make it permanent. Principal Karrol said he'll evaluate the success of the program based on feedback from students, parents, and teachers, and the depth of the work in classrooms with laptops compared to those without them.
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