Schools back move to personal laptops

Three Otago integrated schools which have introduced personal laptops or netbooks say parents have supported the move.

But it has emerged, following news that the equipment would become standard in an Auckland college, that as yet no state school in Otago would have an iPad on its compulsory stationery list.

Plans by Auckland's Orewa College to make iPads costing between $799 and $1148 standard equipment for year 9 pupils next year have raised concerns among cash-strapped parents.

Labour education spokeswoman Sue Moroney has also expressed fears such moves will lead to a two-tier education system.

She called for a greater commitment from the Government to provide information technology across all families in all schools.

Otago Secondary School Principals' Association chairwoman Julie Anderson said it would be totally beyond many parents to find about $1000 for an iPad and it would be difficult to make such devices compulsory at this stage.

Prices paid by parents at Columba College, St Hilda's Collegiate and John McGlashan College have ranged from a lease fee of $6 or $7 a week to $2000 for a laptop and software.

Columba College principal, Elizabeth Wilson, said 13in laptops had been introduced in term two this year for pupils in years 7 to 11 and older pupils had the option of buying them, too.

With software, the computers would cost about $2000, she said.

Arrangements to help parents included having some computers on long-term loan.

The support for the move had been excellent and Miss Wilson said " full credit" was due to the parent community and to the teachers.

St Hilda's Collegiate is in the second year of a programme where year 9 pupils each have their own approved laptop worth about $1300.

Some 150 of the school's 420 pupils had laptops under the scheme.

Principal, Melissa Bell, said she could understand the two-tier concerns.

While having a laptop was not a condition of entry for the year 9 pupils, every pupil had one, as a variety of hardship measures were in place for about 10% of pupils who could not afford the outlay at the start of the school year.

"We don't want it to be a barrier to someone coming to St Hilda's."

The school had found introducing the laptop programme had led to greater consistency.

Parents could either buy laptops through deals organised through the school, or purchase their own according to the specifications given by the school.

Some parents had initially been hesitant, but were now "well and truly on board".

John McGlashan College principal, Mike Corkery, said this year's 85 year 9 pupils had netbooks, a small laptop-style computer, which they leased for $6 or $7 a week.

One of the reasons these had been chosen was because of their price, between $500 and $600, their nine-hour battery power capacity, and because they were "pretty robust".

Parental response had been really positive and the leasing arrangement seemed to be affordable.

He accepted that low-income families would find the cost of personal computers for children prohibitive, but pointed out many people spent several hundred dollars on cellphones and iPods.

The move to the use of personal IT devices in schools was inevitable.

The Ministry of Education said it was up to individual schools to decide which tools would best support students' learning, and to ensure all their pupils have equitable access to them.

Secondary Principals' association president Patrick Walsh expected iPads would become compulsory at all high schools in four or five years.

But he raised questions about who would pay for the devices.

"In lower-decile schools, the Government needs to intervene and pay, or provide a subsidy if we want to keep pace with the world economy," Mr Walsh said.

"There's no point in the Government rolling out the ultra fast broadband if they're not going to help provide resources in schools to use it."

 

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