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Monday, August 25, 2014 7:04:10 PM
Atlantic City, Pleasantville students earn Chromebooks for school work
Posted: Thursday, August 14, 2014 6:00 am
By DIANE D’AMICO Education Writer
ATLANTIC CITY — Mahidul Bhuiyan, 13, of Atlantic City got a call from the vice principal at the Richmond Avenue School. Luis Garcia,15, of Pleasantville got a call from his mother.
Both calls landed the boys in a six-week summer program that taught them how to use a Google Chromebook for school projects, and will let them keep the computer if they attend 80 percent of classes.
With just one more week to go, 28 of the 30 incoming high school freshmen from Atlantic City and Pleasantville are on target to keep their computers, which they carefully placed in cases with their names on the front as class ended Wednesday at the Carnegie Library in Atlantic City.
For two hours a day, three mornings a week, they have learned to do research, manage spreadsheets, organize a project, and develop a presentation in the form of a newscast. Their topic has been the Ebola virus, one that has dominated the news.
“My goal is to make sure they go into high school prepared to use the Chromebook to learn,” said Stephen Vogt, president of IT Management Company Provectus (formerly Perfect Solutions) in Northfield, who instructed the students.
Many schools are replacing personal computers with Chromebooks or other tablets, which are less expensive, typically less than $300 each. The qualifying students will also get a case and some extras for the computer.
Student lessons included working on keyboarding skills with a competitive typing contest, and learning to use the formulas in the spreadsheet program. All will be qualified to become Google certified before they leave with their new computers Aug. 21.
Vogt said the students arrived with different skill levels, but all improved quickly. Bhuiyan showed off the project management plan his team developed for their newscast.
“I have a computer at home,” he said. “But this is much better.”
“And faster,” said Kate Isidro, 14, of Atlantic City, who hopes one day to study law. “I really wanted to do this. (Mahidul and I) are in honors classes in high school, and they are supposed to be a lot more work. This will help.”
The “Learn to Earn” program was developed through a partnership of the Altantic County Sheriff’s Office and the Atlantic County Coalition for a Safe Community, which got a grant for up to $10,000 from the Casino Reinvestment and Development Authority to buy the Chromebooks for the 21 students from Atlantic City.
Nine students from Pleasantville were sponsored through grants from Friends of Frank Formica, Atlantic City Electric, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers - Local 351, Kline Construction and the Metropolitan Business & Citizens Association.
Richard Stockton College donated the use of a room at the Carnegie Library site in Atlantic City and the Jitney Association provided a jitney to take the Pleasantville students to and from the Carnegie Library.
Atlantic County Sheriff Frank Balles and his aide Kerry Deitz attended Wednesday’s class. Balles said students’ families had to meet income eligibility requirements and they worked with the schools and housing authorities in both cities to identify students going into high school who could most benefit from the program.
“We wanted to give the students the skills they will need to be successful in high school,” he said. “Some would come in early so they could meet privately with the instructor, and some days it was hard to get them to leave.”
Garcia, who said his mom just woke him up one morning and told him he was going, said it has totally been worth getting up for the 8:30 a.m. class.
“It’s so easy to use,” he said. “It’s like an Android phone, with apps. I’m good on it.”
Balles said the program was put together very quickly this year, but he hopes to repeat and expand it next year.
Contact Diane D'Amico:
609-272-7241
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/atlantic-city-pleasantville-students-earn-chromebooks-for-school-work/article_ded5b1b4-232c-11e4-8d89-0019bb2963f4.html#.U_P4XLWBFtU.facebook
Posted: Thursday, August 14, 2014 6:00 am
By DIANE D’AMICO Education Writer
ATLANTIC CITY — Mahidul Bhuiyan, 13, of Atlantic City got a call from the vice principal at the Richmond Avenue School. Luis Garcia,15, of Pleasantville got a call from his mother.
Both calls landed the boys in a six-week summer program that taught them how to use a Google Chromebook for school projects, and will let them keep the computer if they attend 80 percent of classes.
With just one more week to go, 28 of the 30 incoming high school freshmen from Atlantic City and Pleasantville are on target to keep their computers, which they carefully placed in cases with their names on the front as class ended Wednesday at the Carnegie Library in Atlantic City.
For two hours a day, three mornings a week, they have learned to do research, manage spreadsheets, organize a project, and develop a presentation in the form of a newscast. Their topic has been the Ebola virus, one that has dominated the news.
“My goal is to make sure they go into high school prepared to use the Chromebook to learn,” said Stephen Vogt, president of IT Management Company Provectus (formerly Perfect Solutions) in Northfield, who instructed the students.
Many schools are replacing personal computers with Chromebooks or other tablets, which are less expensive, typically less than $300 each. The qualifying students will also get a case and some extras for the computer.
Student lessons included working on keyboarding skills with a competitive typing contest, and learning to use the formulas in the spreadsheet program. All will be qualified to become Google certified before they leave with their new computers Aug. 21.
Vogt said the students arrived with different skill levels, but all improved quickly. Bhuiyan showed off the project management plan his team developed for their newscast.
“I have a computer at home,” he said. “But this is much better.”
“And faster,” said Kate Isidro, 14, of Atlantic City, who hopes one day to study law. “I really wanted to do this. (Mahidul and I) are in honors classes in high school, and they are supposed to be a lot more work. This will help.”
The “Learn to Earn” program was developed through a partnership of the Altantic County Sheriff’s Office and the Atlantic County Coalition for a Safe Community, which got a grant for up to $10,000 from the Casino Reinvestment and Development Authority to buy the Chromebooks for the 21 students from Atlantic City.
Nine students from Pleasantville were sponsored through grants from Friends of Frank Formica, Atlantic City Electric, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers - Local 351, Kline Construction and the Metropolitan Business & Citizens Association.
Richard Stockton College donated the use of a room at the Carnegie Library site in Atlantic City and the Jitney Association provided a jitney to take the Pleasantville students to and from the Carnegie Library.
Atlantic County Sheriff Frank Balles and his aide Kerry Deitz attended Wednesday’s class. Balles said students’ families had to meet income eligibility requirements and they worked with the schools and housing authorities in both cities to identify students going into high school who could most benefit from the program.
“We wanted to give the students the skills they will need to be successful in high school,” he said. “Some would come in early so they could meet privately with the instructor, and some days it was hard to get them to leave.”
Garcia, who said his mom just woke him up one morning and told him he was going, said it has totally been worth getting up for the 8:30 a.m. class.
“It’s so easy to use,” he said. “It’s like an Android phone, with apps. I’m good on it.”
Balles said the program was put together very quickly this year, but he hopes to repeat and expand it next year.
Contact Diane D'Amico:
609-272-7241
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/atlantic-city-pleasantville-students-earn-chromebooks-for-school-work/article_ded5b1b4-232c-11e4-8d89-0019bb2963f4.html#.U_P4XLWBFtU.facebook
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