The lap-top project was started in Brauer College two and a half years ago. Two classes in year 7 were designated as lap-top classes where every pupil was required to purchase their own lap-top machine. A number of teachers were also chosen from each faculty to teach these classes. Subsequently there have been two lap-top classes per year, so there are now 8 lap-top classes in the school (two each from years 7 to 9)

It was assumed from the start that the lap-tops would be used whenever appropriate, but that pupils would normally use them instead of writing. Year 7 classes were 25 pupils each and all pupils in a lap-top class were together for every subject (classes were not set for Maths or English and there were no reduced class sizes for practical subjects, so there were no problems with time-tabling)

Lap-tops were leased to teachers for $3 a week and purchased by pupils for $3000. The school entered into an agreement with a hardware supplier to purchase lap-tops and software licences at an advantageous price, together with a maintenance contract. Pupils could use their own lap-tops provided all the necessary software was installed and the machine was of an appropriate specification.

Everyone in a lap-top class takes a touch typing keyboarding course at the beginning of year 7. Most lap-top classrooms have been fitted with benches, which have enough power and network points. There are lockers in the school where lap-tops can be recharged during breaks and lunch times, though this is not always the answer to low battery problems as pupils often want to use them during break. If lap-tops are included the pupil/computer ratio in the school is 3/1, though there are currently not enough IP addresses available within the school to have all lap-tops connected to the network simultaneously.

There is a technician in the school who can fix software problems and will do some hardware repairs. Anything which can’t be fixed is done by the suppliers on a once per week basis. Pupils are charged for repairs.

Pros: "There are no books to forget – everything is always there." "People help each other, so it’s not a problem if you don’t know how to do something." "The lap-tops help you organise your thoughts - you can put down ideas and arrange them without having to rub anything out." "You can set out headings and then fill in the details later." "You can re-draft over and over again without re-writing." "You can e-mail homework to teachers." "They make your work look better." "Since you have them all the time you learn to use them quickly and you don’t forget things." Q "How did you learn to touch type so fast?" A "I use a lot of chat sites on the Internet"

Cons: "Printing is difficult as you need to connect the lap-top to a printer somewhere in the school, and often you end up doing it at home." "There are occasional hardware failures which can take a while to fix." "In some classrooms glare from the sun on the screens is a problem." "They are quite heavy so it is a bind having to carry them around."

Pros: The laptops improve progress and achievement. Students have confidence with software and take more pride in their work. Poorer students produce work which is spelled correctly and laid out better. Better students are motivated Students can have instant access to software such as crocodile clips, Graphmatica etc. Teachers can use electronically generated worksheets. Pupil material can be re-used – a report on novel can be turned into a web page for instance.

Cons: Recharge time is sometimes a problem as the children often forget to recharge them at home, and the lunch interval is not long enough. This means that inevitably there are cables trailing around the classroom. Students sometimes re-configure the machines, install incompatible software etc. which can lead to delays and difficulties. Lap-top machines can have a floppy or CD connected but not both, and students often leave the CD player fitted as they use them for games etc. This is a problem if they need to access material on floppy. As the only means of transferring worksheets, examples etc. is by floppy, if the material contains graphics (as in science worksheets) then there is a problem making the file small enough, and not all students know how to use Winzip or have it installed. Since parents have to pay for installed software, not all network software is available on lap-tops. There is no bank of spare lap-tops if one fails. Not all lap-tops are fitted with network cards so there is not always direct access to the Internet or a means of transferring large files. Not every classroom has network and power points.

Word processing does not encourage paragraphing skills because pupils assume that if there are no spelling or grammar errors, then the work must be OK. Some parents expectations of the lap-top program were too great.

There was some debate about whether charging pupils for the use of the lap-tops was elitist - only those who could afford them could participate. Classes using lap-tops have an obviously different socio-economic profile and thus it is difficult to measure the effect of the lap-tops without taking this into account. Lap-tops are costly, not just because they have to be purchased initially but because there may be software or other items to be purchased. Some software can only be used on the school network because parents cannot be expected to purchase it for use on lap-tops. Since non-lap-top classes tend to have a greater proportion of lower ability and disruptive pupils, some parents may feel that their children would be doubly disadvantaged if they are not included in the program.

Year 8: English. Microsoft Front Page was being used to create a multimedia web site on the theme of a movie. Pupils had been given a basic plan of the home page which had to contain links to characters, plot, etc. They then down-loaded graphics, sound, and animations from the Internet and built it into their pages. The pupils felt that Front Page was easy to learn, that creating the structure of the web site first had helped them in organising their thoughts. They were familiar with Alta-vista as the search engine. Some pupils used Microsoft Gif Animator to create their own animations. The class is participating in a school competition with another year 8 class – the winning web site would be published on the school Intranet and shown to the year on the display screen in the auditorium.

Year 7: History. The class used Maps n’ Facts to copy a map of Greece into Paint – in order to illustrate a report on Ancient Greek civilisation. The teacher used a large screen monitor and lap-top to display digital photographs of Greek monuments. Resources used by pupils: Maps n’ Facts, Encarta, World book CD, Teacher’s photographs and the Internet.

Year 8 General Science: The class were using litmus and universal indicator to check the PH of a variety of substances. Pupils were issued with Word document (on disk) with blanks to fill in as a summary of lesson. The experiment was written up using lap-tops. The Internet is frequently used as a resource for topic research – half the class go to a nearby computer base to research the topic, then the class swaps over.

Year 7 English: This was a lesson in predictive reading using a newspaper article: The class were given the headline, then selected phrases and asked to predict content. Students created a table with predicted meanings and then added actual correct meaning. Lap-tops were used just as a normal class would use jotters, but were also an aid to organising thought, and helped pupils to produce legible written material.

Year 7 Science The class were studying friction. Their work-sheet was pre-loaded onto their lap-tops and the students filled in their results from experiments, answers to questions etc. All material had been created by the teacher, and although they used a textbook, this was a secondary resource.

Year 8 Art: The class were creating a collage made from a digital photograph (edited by pupils), a portrait drawn using a painting program plus other materials from newspapers etc. Pupils were asked to decide on appropriate software for creating artwork (Does it need reflection or rotation? Does it need specific tools) Pupils had access to as variety of graphics software.

The laptop program has been successful in promoting the use of IT within the curriculum. The fact that pupils used laptops in every class meant that the machines quickly became just another classroom tool, albeit an extremely useful one.

Although there have been a few initial technical problems, particularly with access to the network, enough money seems to have been spent initially to make the program work. Laptops are not robust, but if pupils own the machines they are likely to take more care of them.

If you want a successful project of this sort then you must:

Provide good technical support

Use high specification machines and use the benefits of bulk purchase to get an advantageous price from suppliers

Make sure there are adequate network and power points in classrooms.

Train staff in the use of the software and give them easy access to hardware.

Incorporate the laptops into all subjects in the curriculum.