Watkins Glen students will get computers

    WATKINS GLEN—Students at Watkins Glen Middle and High Schools will have  new tools to help them succeed at school this year. All students in grades five to 12 will receive an HP Pavilion netbook at the beginning of the year. The computers can be used for everything from completing and turning in homework to taking notes.
    Superintendent Tom Phillips said there are around 840 students who would get the computers.  This is a continuation of the district’s successful MLD (Mobile Learning Device) project, which began at the Middle School two years ago using Verizon smart phones. This is the first year that the project has been expanded into the High School, and also the first year that the district has provided netbooks for students.
    Using the netbooks, students can:
    • Use Google and other search engines to look up information for term papers or projects, anywhere a Verizon cell phone signal is available.
    • Keep up with homework and class activities if absent from school.  
    • Access digital lessons created by their teachers, which can include multiple sources of information such as instructional videos, content specific articles, online chats with experts within a field and creative programs that will make for interesting and fun presentations.
    • Keep track of all their school notes, lessons and assignments without the use of multiple notebooks.
    • Participate in a class discussion through a secure online forum.
    • Access some textbooks electronically.
    The continuation and expansion of the project was made possible by a federal “Learning on the Go” grant the district received earlier this year. Watkins is one of only 20 districts in the country to receive this funding, according to a release from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office.
    “The focus of this initiative is to provide all students with equal access to the tools they need to be successful learners,” said Phillips. “The use of technology is simply a core competency that our students must have if they are going to successfully compete in a global economy.”