By Tanner Kent
MANKATO — Kate Breiter already has ideas.
Breiter’s classroom is no stranger to technology. The social-studies teacher builds Web sites with her eighth-graders (causes of the Civil War) and creates podcasts with her seventh-graders (evidence the Inca civilization was advanced).
But with Mankato Loyola officials recently announcing its one-to-one student laptop program to begin next school year, Breiter said there is no limit to what classrooms can accomplish with unlimited access to technology.
“As a teacher, you have to find new ways to get kids excited,” she said. “And I think the kids are really excited about this.”
But implementing a schoolwide laptop program is no easy proposition.
Campuses and classrooms have to be rigged for wireless. Computer security measures must be installed. Staff and students must be trained, and the curriculum must be revised to incorporate the universe of information and resources available on a simple 13-inch monitor.
And, of course, there are hundreds of computers to purchase.
But as Mankato Loyola becomes one of a handful of Minnesota schools to implement a student laptop program, President Bette Blaisdell said the logistical challenges are balanced by an excitement to launch traditional classroom education into the technology frontier.
“It’s exciting,” Blaisdell said. “And a little scary.”
Thankfully, Blaisdell has done this before. In her previous post as president of Faribault Bethlehem Academy, she helped initiate a similar program that is now three years old.
At Loyola, the plan is to give every student in grades 7-12 a brand-new Apple iBook. During the school year, that computer will be the student’s to keep — both at school and at home — and will be returned to the school before summer break. The plan also includes a laptop cart program for students in grades K-6 to allow some exposure at the elementary level.
Complete cost for the program won’t be known until all the computers are purchased, but similar programs at other schools have tallied well into six figures.
Blaisdell was adamant, however, that the program will be the school’s responsibility. She said Loyola will not raise tuition beyond its customary standard-of-living increase.
“It is expensive,” said Blaisdell, who added Loyola will pay for the program through a capital campaign. “But we don’t want this on the backs of our parents.”
Training for Loyola staff will begin soon and likely continue for the duration of the program. Meanwhile, officials have begun putting together a safety plan that includes software to block questionable sites and block access to the school’s network, and parents and staff have already met to discuss Internet safety guidelines.
“This is the beginning of the vision,” Blaisdell said. “The world is going to open for these kids.”
