Video by Daphne Chen

Starting on Jan. 19, students and teachers were allowed to bring their laptops to school for educational use in classes in a pilot program that will last until spring break. This is part of the district’s strategic plan to integrate learning with the 21st century, and administrators hope that both students and teachers will be able to adapt.

“Kids shouldn’t have to ‘power down’ when they come to school,” Principal Brad Hunt said, relaying what speaker Alan November told teachers when he came to speak on Tuesday (which resulted in a half-day for students).

Although very few students have since brought their laptops, faculty hope that the trend will catch on. Students will join the CISD network for Internet access but not be able to print wirelessly or access certain Web sites such as Facebook. While some are skeptical that students will abuse this privilege, administrators saw that the positives would outweigh the negatives.

“We have to decide, do we give the students the tools at the risk of them taking advantage of it?” CHS integration specialist Shalone Willms said. “And I think the answer is yes.”

Original Video – More videos at TinyPic