WARNER — Warner Middle School students will each receive a brand-new ThinkPad netbook when they return to school this year.

Warner received $218,000 from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant. The same grant was awarded to 19 Oklahoma schools.

The school purchased 110 ThinkPads and 10 teacher laptops, carry cases, and storage carts, said Myrna Lowe, Educational Technology Integration Specialist.

The seventh- and eighth-grade students can utilize their netbooks in the classroom, Lowe said. The students may take the netbooks home if parents pay a small insurance fee based on a sliding fee scale.

Tristen Roach, 12, uses a laptop at home, she said, but looks forward to having the same technology available with a netbook in the classroom.

“I write essays and research different countries on my laptop,” Roach said. “The Internet information is more up-to-date than encyclopedias. This will be more interesting and modern.”

Roach, Kylee Scrapper, 12, and Gabby Tucker, 10, all of Warner, tried out the new ThinkPads under Lowe’s direction.

They had plenty of questions about what they can and can’t use the computers for during class time.

“We have a program called the “way-back machine,” Lowe told the students, laughing. “We can go back and see everywhere you’ve been.”

Actually, the teachers will have a program that allows them to see a student’s ThinkPad screen in real-time, either on the teacher’s laptop or on a SmartBoard, Lowe said.

They can also tie lessons together with the students’ individual units and a SmartBoard, record lessons to post for students to access later and much more.

The teachers can also turn each ThinkPad off remotely and each will have tracking devices in case they are lost.

Parents and students will have to sign an acceptable use contract, Lowe said, and be responsible for what websites the students’ visit at home.

One of the biggest changes the seventh- and eighth-graders will see, however, is being able to post homework assignments on Moodle.

Moodle is a secure website where teachers can give assignments, show videos and slideshows, and track students’ work.

Students will use Moodle to view lessons, upload homework assignments, and track grades.

No student information or work will be accessible on the web, Lowe said.

Students will receive a week of digital citizenship and digital literacy classes before they receive their netbooks.

Additionally, teachers will receive professional development training on the system and Lowe will spend some time working one-on-one with each teacher.

Reach Wendy Burton at 684-2926 or wburton @muskogeephoenix.com.