School gets a mobile computer lab outfitted with 30 new Dell notebooks

JAMESBURG—Laptop computers are now accessible to the hot little hands of students at the John F. Kennedy School. The 30 new Dell notebooks that make up the mobile computer lab and are wheeled through the school each day are reserved by teachers in two-hour increments for classroom activities and lessons.

The mobile lab is a new addition for the 2005-2006 school year and supplements stationary computer lab at the school, which has 30 Dell desktop computers. Jamesburg School Superintendent Shirley Bzdewka said Wednesday that the addition of the mobile computer lab to JFK is an extension of a program started at the Grace M. Breckwedel School.

GMB has a similar IBM mobile computer lab that the school district purchased in 2003.

She said the Dell computers at JFK are especially easy-to-use because they use Wi-Fi connections for Internet access, which means the computers are linked through a wireless network.

"The computers are great because they can be used anywhere in the building," Ms. Bzdewka said. "You can even use them outside."

Ms. Bzdewka said the compact design of laptop computers is ideal for the elementary school and its students. "I think the laptops are more manageable for the younger kids because they're smaller," Ms. Bzdewka said.

She said that although JFK has Internet connectivity in all rooms and two or three computers per classroom, the mobile computer lab is an asset because it allows children to use them all at once, in their own classrooms.

"It's great because the mobile lab really bring technology to the classroom," Ms. Bzdewka said.

Ms. Bzdewka said students use the computers for word processing, reading and math activities. She said the mobile labs at GMB and JFK have been problem-free from damage so far. "There's been no breakage and no problems with computers getting ruined or broken," Ms. Bzdewka said. "We haven't told the students to handle them any different than normal computers, and we've found they're pretty durable."

Ms. Bzdewka said the district bought Dell laptops because the IBM computers had shorter battery life. The district paid about $30,000 for the Dell mobile lab, according to district Business Administrator Tom Reynolds.