EPISD starts handing out laptops

the el paso independent school district has begun distributing more than 16-thousand laptops to students this week … a six- million dollar district intiative called power-up that’s expected to change the way they learn. abc-7’s darren hunt was at his alma- mater, irvin high, today when they were handed out … he joins us live with the details … darren. rick and estela, it was a walk down memory lane for me today … thirty- years ago when i was in school, however, i hadn’t even heard of the internet, let alone laptops. “this is kind of about us catching up to them isn’t it? … this is their normal for students today … our freshman and sophomores have been born in this century … they don’t know a world without internet or smart phones or laptops.” episd spokesperson melissa martinez said the h-p stream laptops cost the district about 220- dollars each … and every high school student in the district will get one. each laptop holds four core digital textbooks and since each paper textbook costs about a hundred dollars, the district sees it as a cost-savings. over the next two weeks, two high schools per day are scheduled for distribution. district officials said students can opt not to take one, if they have their own device they would rather use. teachers said they are confident it will not only engage students more, it will make their jobs easier. bea ruiz: “from the teacher’s perspective here, how is this going to change things? less grading papers … i don’t have to take anything home, all i have to do is just log on, check it, give them their grade and its faster feedback.” cynthia ontiveros: “what if they brea one? what happens then? we’re treating this as textbooks, with the textbook if we tear the page or break the spine, there’s fees that are applied.” a broken screen, by the way, will cost you 138-dollars. i overheard students being told to use the “grandma rule” whe it comes to their school-issued laptops. in other words, if your grandma was looking over your shoulder, would she approve of the site you’re looking at? just in case students don’t follow that rule, district officials assured me filters will keep students off certain sites both at school and at home. rick and estela. sunland park’s city council appears set