Even though the District has two more years on a technology contract, the type of technology administered to students isn’t limited to Netbooks. The department is looking into both tablets and a bring-your-own-device policy as options.

“The concept of students bringing their own device to use has gotten a lot of traction in other schools around the country,” Ballard said. One of the biggest concerns with this idea though is what would happen to the students who either don’t have their own device to bring or can’t afford to buy one. The technology department has not yet found a definite answer to this question and is continuing research the issue.

Tablets are also being considered as an option. The upside of the tablets is that they will be more cost efficient to the school than the Netbooks. The ACE Netbook that the class of 2016 received costs $245 per computer. Google recently released a tablet that sells for $199. Ballard bought one to test. From what he’s seen of it thus far, he said, it looks quite promising. The chief problem with a tablet, however,is the lack of a keyboard. Add-on keyboards are available but that just puts the cost of the tablet all together back at what a Netbook would have cost. Also, according to Ballard, the apps on a tablet aren’t as robust as those on a Netbook.

With all these potential changes to the technology department being discussed, the biggest thing the student tech leaders are concerned about is what will happen to their position as Netbook experts. If the department decides to follow through with one of these other programs, the tech leaders’ training would be enhanced so that they are capable of using any device. “The tech leaders are invaluable to the district and the students,” Ballard said. “If anything, the program will evolve to fit the students’ needs.”

For more information on the research and planning regarding the prospective technology programs at District 219, visit http://d219technews.blogspot.com/.