Millennium Charter Academy - One to One Laptop Initiative

MCA is intent on providing a "leading edge"
instruction and technology platform to our students. In the fall of 2004, investigations began to determine the feasibilty of providing laptops for each middle school student. As part of this investigation process, technologists from MCA visited Greene County, NC, schools where a 1:1 initiative had been implemented and was going into its second year. There, teachers, students, and computer company representatives presented the advantages and challenges of implementing such a system. Based on very encouraging results in the Greene County program, MCA decided to implement a similar program.

After researching what configurations would best meet student needs, specifications were completed for the hardware to be ordered that

would serve the new MCA middle school students and mesh neatly with the existing network. Then during the summer of 2005, laptops for middle school teachers and students were orderd. Middle school staff worked diligently to incorporate laptop use into the curriculum in every subject area. The program was an instant success. Not only did it provide ready access to a variety of tools such as word processors and spreadsheet programs, it provided a link to unlimited educational sites. The students received the laptops with pride, enthusiasm, and responsibility.

Student use of the laptops at school is a given. If a student would like to use the laptop at home, then that student's parents or guardians must come to the school where they are advised of the Academy's Laptop Acceptable Use Policy. Upon agreement and signature of that document, and a $150 payment towards an insurance deductible, the student may take use of the laptop 24/7.

Several mechanisms have been put in place to keep the students safe, technologically speaking. At the school, students are protected from inappropriate web sites by a subscription based content filter. This device is continually updated to filter sites that are known to the subscription service to be inappropriate for children, and sites and words determined by MCA to be inappropriate are also blocked. Computers are routinely and randomly monitored for mis-use. Remote desktop and network monitoring software is also used, as well as the school's honor code where students are held accountable if they are aware of mis-use on another's part.