New laptops lighten the load for Galway schoolkids

By Denise McNamara

This year County Galway VEC students will not only be sporting their shiny new shoes and flawless uniforms at the start of the new term – under their arms will be some very nifty Netbooks.

For the first, second and third year students of the 12 colleges spread far and wide across the county and her islands, gone are almost three-quarters of their school books.

In their place are small, lightweight and relatively inexpensive laptops. A 15 kilo burden has been slashed to just 2 kilos at the click of a mouse.

“The interactivity is a real bonus – it’s not like a traditional book. If it’s biology class you’ll be able to see an actual heart pumping, they’ll see an engine running or a volcano erupting,” enthused the principal of Coláiste Cholmcille in Inverin, Peadar Ó Sé. “There are so many possibilities. I think it’s the future.”

The Co Galway VEC is the first in the country to replace books with computers across its network of schools.

“We started out two years ago slowly with just 12 Netbooks in Mountbellew and are now rolling out 1,200. We have been training the teachers over the last year and have created a virtual learning environment where resources can be shared,” said Joe McDonagh, CEO of the Co Galway VEC.

“The big secret is having the necessary backup technical support for a scheme like this. We have an in-house ICT officer, support person and teacher trainer so we can make huge savings on technical support compared to individual schools which have to use private companies.”

The VEC’s bulk-buying power has resulted in reduced prices for the Netbook, the software and the e-text books which have been downloaded onto the computers. The books cost on average 25% less than their traditional print versions.

The cost for each machine is just over €300 – the VEC is subsidising €100 of it, parents are being asked for another €100 and the school is paying for the rest. Parents will also be asked to cover the €20 maintenance fee to sort out any hiccups in the machines. Up to now the school had asked for €50 per child, which covers the rental of books, school materials and photocopying.

This year the VEC is asking parents for the same amount to cover books not available for download as well as €120 for the Netbook and its maintenance.

“We’re very conscious of the cost to households, which is why we’ve kept it to €50 every year up to now. The €120 is a one-off charge for this year,” said Mr Ó Sé.

“This is one way to reduce costs. The VEC are bulk buying thousands of e-books. As publishers update the books, they won’t need to update the whole book but just replace chapters.”

Read more in today's Connacht Tribune