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Public Information - Press ReleaseRelease
Date: Immediate Schools Go Wireless Using New Mobile Laptop Computer Labs The latest technology is literally falling into the laps of more students and teachers in the Garden Grove Unified School District as 14 elementary schools begin taking possession of new wireless mobile computer labs. Housed on wheeled carts, each lab contains 17 Macintosh laptops, an LCD projector for the teacher, and a network laser printer. The cost for each is approximately $25,000, provided through the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grant program. As the carts are delivered, staff from the instructional technology department will provide demonstrations for integrating the new equipment and software into regular classroom lessons in science, social science, and language arts, among others. The computers come bundled with software for word processing, spread sheets, slide presentations, graphic organizers, and multi-media projects. Allen Elementary School in Fountain Valley will be the first school to receive its mobile lab, followed by Garden Park and Hill elementary schools in Garden Grove. All 14 participating schools should have their new equipment by the end of March, according to Mark Mariola, supervisor of instructional technology. The schools were chosen because they are unable to qualify for as much special technology funding as other GGUSD schools. The mobile units have significant advantages over computer labs located in dedicated classrooms or housed in school libraries. Students and teachers are no longer compelled to relocate to the computer lab for technology-based assignments or use the few computers in classrooms where access is controlled by limited space and the availability of scarce AC power outlets. “In most circumstances a typical classroom only can accommodate about four computers,” Mariola explained. “The configuration forces teachers to carefully plan access in rotating schedules. With wireless technology, however, an entire class has access at the same time. “The teacher simply rolls the cart into the classroom, connects into one power source, and distributes the computers. It is a very effective way to get technology into the students’ hands.”
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