Laptop Program

As of the 2006-07 school year, all Breck Middle School students received an Apple MacBook laptop computer for school and home use. 

Breck's laptop program began with the fourth- and eighth-grade classes in 2005-06 and has now expanded to all students in grades four through twelve.

"Laptops aren't changing what we teach," says eighth-grade English teacher Paul Carpenter, "but they're definitely changing how we teach."

• Equalizing access to resources. "It's wonderful to know that everyone in the class has the same access to maps and original documents," says eighth-grade history teacher Sarah Flotten. "I can refer to them in class and know that every student can see exactly what I'm talking about."
• Enlivening study and review. English students, for example, are practicing their vocabulary lessons with interactive match games they can use as often as they like. And they get instant results to let them know what they need to work on.
• Improving the quality of teacher comments. Using the "audio notes" feature on their laptops, faculty members can give each student conversational feedback on written work submitted online.
• Energizing the material. Eighth grade faculty members say online resources such as PowerPoint help them bring life to basic material. Using the time-honored theory that we often learn best by teaching, eighth graders are able to create multimedia presentations and share them with the rest of their class.
• Making organization easier. For their science lab books, the students are able to combine text, diagrams and digital photos all together. "We're really seeing a higher level of organization across the board," says Sarah.
• Increasing confidence and the options for different learning styles. Observes Sarah, "The laptops have been an amazing tool for students for whom technology is a real strength. Some of them might have been very quiet in class. Now they're sought after by their classmates for help."
• Encouraging teamwork among the faculty as well as the students. "We're supporting students better now that we are sharing our successes and discoveries," says Paul. "It's only natural to share strategies for individual students at the same time."