Fourth graders use laptops to research bird migration.

Lower School Laptops

Thanks to Breck's new laptop program, every fourth grader now has an Apple MacBook computer to use every day at school. Fourth grade teachers are finding that the laptops are energizing the curriculum in a number of ways.

• Providing seamless integration of resources. Teacher David Kust says his students are benefiting greatly from having their own laptops available every day. "At a moment's notice, students can pull out their laptops and begin documents, search for information or find interactive content directly related to the topic of our classroom discussion," he observes.
• Offering powerful curricular resources. For fourth grade science students who concentrate on weather, the availability of internet sites such as the National Hurricane Center and Journey North (a project that tracks monarch butterflies) is a great way to engage in more sophisticated research, says fourth grade teacher Kathy Quick.
• Allowing for keyboarding practice. The teachers find that their students are anxious to improve their keyboarding skills and use classroom downtime to do so.
• Equalizing access. Every student has a fully equipped computer with a wide variety of applications and access to educational sites on the internet.