Laptops for all at high schools in Naperville's District 203
High school students in Naperville Unit District 203 went back to school this week as the first group given their own computing device for personalized learning.
The Dell Chromebook 11 laptop is the device of choice in use by about 5,710 students at Naperville Central and Naperville North high schools, said Jennifer Hester, chief academic officer for the district.
Hester said giving all high school students a laptop will help teachers support their individual learning needs and easily link to engaging materials.
"It gives them immediate access to the digital content and the advantage of digital learning in the classrooms," Hester said. "It gives students the opportunity to really engage in an academic setting and build a sense of digital citizenship."
Administrators tested digital instruction with several devices last year, including Chromebooks, Apple iPads and Microsoft Surface tablets. Hester said they chose the Chromebook for high schoolers because of its ease of use and variety of applications for writing, collaborating on group projects, working in spreadsheets and recording or sharing videos.
"It was truly about thinking about how we would engage our students with digital content and how it would provide us with opportunities to meet students' individual needs," Hester said.
The district is leasing the Chromebooks for four years at a cost between $87 and $90 for each device. High school students pay a technology fee of $50 to offset part of the cost.
Hester said students will use a program called Google Docs to work together on writing projects. Multiple people can view the same document at once in Google Docs, so teachers can watch students work and give tips in real time.
Hester also said students will use their Chromebooks to record videos demonstrating what they've learned in various subjects and "communicating their understanding of content in multiple ways digitally."
Some teachers also will capture lessons on video and post the content for students to review later, she said.
On the first day of school Wednesday, teachers such as Naperville North Chinese instructor Piling Chiu and health teacher Dana Klen had students pop open their Chromebooks for introductory lessons.
High schoolers in District 203 are not the only students to have school-provided personal computing devices.
At all five junior highs, students taught by some groups of teachers have their own Chromebooks as well. And at the elementary level, students in grades three, four and five are testing Chromebooks, while younger kids will use iPads at a two-to-one student-to-computer ratio.
Students given the Chromebooks can use them during class and after school for homework. But they've been instructed the devices are not for play.
"Apps the students upload to the device under the teacher's direction are for educational purposes and for use in school," Hester said. "They are not personal devices to be used beyond educational purposes."