The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

The Student Newspaper of Westminster Christian Academy

The Wildcat Roar

Faculty Receive MacBooks for the 2009-2010 School Year

For the 2009-2010 school year, Westminster has equipped the entire teaching staff and a few administrators with brand new Apple MacBooks. The decision to distribute laptops was a result of Westminster’s new technology plan, part of which was to implement “A Little T&C Now,” which includes utilizing equipment and programming that will easily be transferred to the new campus. Originally the MacBooks were to be given out when Westminster moved to T&C, but although the move is temporarily on hold, the administration still feels that technology is an important aspect of education to focus on, especially in our 21st century culture.
Jim Marsh, Head of School, explained in an email to the staff that “a Macbook in the hands of every teacher would provide a tool that is simple to learn and use, and profoundly expands the capability of all our teachers to create and apply teaching methods only the more innovative teachers are now implementing.” The thought was that before enacting sweeping technology initiatives for WCA teachers would need at least a school year to get fully acquainted with what having a laptop, particularly an Apple laptop, has to offer.
Teachers received the laptops during the summer in addition to a crash-course the day before school started, equipping them with the necessary knowledge to begin navigating the world of Apple. This step is a big one towards making Westminster a technologically literate school ready for the demands of the 21st century. Two weeks into the school year the program is presenting both benefits and challenges.
“I think the laptops are great. I’ve owned an Apple so I already knew how to use it,” said Anne Heyse, upper school English teacher.
David Haas, calculus teacher, has been using his MacBook to present his lessons every day since the start of school.
But for others, the process of becoming familiar with the system and applying it in class has been slower.
“It’s kind of a love-hate relationship,” said Ashley Woodall, middle school World Geography teacher.
Switching to the new system has been quite a shift for some.
“I’m hoping to figure it all out in time for retirement,” said Larry Hughes, upper school Bible teacher.
In addition, the science department has run into some problems with the laptops being incompatible with their lesson materials.
“The demonstrations, videos, and powerpoints we use in class only work through the PCs,” said Dr. Sandra Winchester, science teacher, “so the MacBooks are not as helpful as we hoped. But they are still useful to us in other areas outside of class.”
Despite glitches and frustrations, Westminster’s decision to purchase laptops for the teaching staff is all in a beneficial effort to further education through the use of the latest technology and to prepare for the move to T&C.
“Westminster is increasingly emphasizing technology in education. The MacBooks equip the teachers to better enable the students to prepare for life in the world beyond Westminster,” said Marty Peters, librarian.

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Faculty Receive MacBooks for the 2009-2010 School Year