Jackson Free Press

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — When Oak Grove High School principal Helen Price recently took a trip to Daphne High School in Daphne, Ala., she was astounded by what she saw there.

"I went in classrooms and saw every student working at their desk on (their own) laptop," she said. "It was amazing."

Price was part of a group of Lamar County School District administrators, teachers, students and parents who visited the high school to research how the students there used individual laptops.

"Students would have three or four screens open at a time, one with their textbook, one with their notes from class, one with their assignment on it and one where they were doing their assignment. Nothing else was on their desk. It was all at their fingertips," said Price.

Price couldn't believe how having the laptops allowed each student to work independently.

"They were searching for knowledge themselves, and the teacher was guiding them in the process to be sure they were learning how to be successful," she said. "The students were engaged in their learning, working at their own pace and benefiting collaboratively."

Price and the other Lamar County members were helping Lamar County School District Superintendent Ben Burnett, who was also on the trip. He is hoping he can replace textbooks with laptops for every high schooler in the district in the upcoming school year. Price would very much like to see that happen at Oak Grove High School.

"We would benefit beyond measure if we are able to receive one-on-one technology for our students," she said. "More and more, we are being required to have our students at the computer, and in many circumstances, all at the same time.

"We do not have a computer lab for our teachers to take their classes into. We have almost 1,600 students and, at best, 25 computers in our library and 10 in our career center."

Burnett has long talked about replacing textbooks with laptops for every student in the district.

"We feel that that's the way instruction is headed in the future," he said. "My hope is to implement this at the high schools next year. Our full intent is to take this into every grade level once we get this going."

Burnett said the obstacle he is facing right now is a financial one. He is considering leasing Apple products because of the educational apps, programs and software available with that brand.

He said the cost to outfit every student at the district's three high schools with an Apple laptop would be $500,000 a year. That would lease about 2,600 laptops — enough for every student at Oak Grove, Purvis and Sumrall high schools.

"But we won't be buying textbooks, so a lot of our budget dollars would be diverted," he said. "We have to see what the Legislature appropriates in the budget to see if we can afford it."

At Purvis High School, students have access to iPads, which teachers can reserve for their classroom from an iPad cart.

English teacher Denise Ladner, who went to Daphne High School, thinks having a laptop for every student would be a good idea.

"I think it's a great use of technology," she said. "I think it will propel our students into a competitive world. It will give them a leg up on preparing them for college and careers."

Purvis High School junior Brandon McCluskey also went to Daphne High School. He saw some areas where the laptops would not be so useful.

"Some subjects it wouldn't work as well, like math, where you have to show your work," he said. "But science, you're constantly researching, and it would be really helpful."

McCluskey said the students told him a few things about the laptops that made him think he'd like to have one at school.

"We learned that it was kind of difficult to adjust to at first, but once you got used to it, it was really handy, because you didn't have to carry books and papers," he said. "I'm a very unorganized person, so it would really help me stay on top of my work."

Junior Brittany Whiddon is hoping she gets a laptop to use her senior year, after seeing the Daphne students.

"I thought it was really cool how they used the laptops," she said. "I learned how they can help us in school. That school said they had fewer disciplinary issues and students were less likely to damage the technology, because one you have something that's your own, you want to take care of it."

Parent Carol Moree said she was impressed by the way the Daphne students were using the laptops.

"We went into some foreign language classes, and they were using a website called Dialect.com where the computer would talk back to the students," she said.

Moree said she has mixed feelings about the high schoolers, including her son, Lucas — a junior at Sumrall High School — getting laptops.

"My son and daughter (in college), I know they use their computers — it's a good thing," she said. "But I'm kind of torn, because books are important. I hate to see books replaced. I'm kind of old school. I hate to see books go by the wayside."

Burnett said giving a laptop to every high schooler is important to their education.

"We feel like one of our biggest jobs is preparing our students for the future," he said. "This is one thing that will help our high schoolers transition better into work or college."

Price agrees that laptops are a necessity for her students.

"We are ready to get behind the one-on-one initiative at Oak Grove High School 100 percent," she said. "It's what we need to be even better and take our instruction and our learning to the next level."