School District Rolling Out New "Bring Your Own Laptop" Pilot Program

The Muskego-Norway school district technology committee has announced plans to start a new program where students will be able to bring in their own laptop computers and use the school's wireless network in class.

This announcement comes as a result of the increasing need for access to computers in Muskego schools. Director of Technology Robert Boyd says that teachers have been asking for permission to allow their students to bring in their own phones and laptops to class to take part in interactive educational activities.

"Computer labs are also booked solid," Boyd said. "It is becoming increasingly difficult to access a computer in a Muskego school without having scheduled it in advance."

The response from the district is a new program to roll out gradually to students that would allow them access to the school's wireless network to go online at school with their own laptops. Boyd and the technology committee have been researching successful programs similar to this one throughout the country to ensure it is implemented properly. This will include a filter on the internet to ensure that students will not misuse their network access or otherwise attempt to access inappropriate content while at school.

"Progress is moving steadily," Boyd confirmed.

Next week, the technology committee will sit down with school officials, staff members, and parents to address any concerns. A handbook will be made available for staff, students, and parents so that they know everything they need to know about the program. It will gradually be rolled out to the middle schools and high schools, with a target date of March 15th.

Future plans also include allowing students to access their personal network drive from outside of the school network, giving them access to their school-stored files "in the cloud." This was a program that was once attempted in 2006, but the infrastructure at the time was not adequate for the system. Upgrades have taken place since then to hopefully allow a better program to be put in place.

"This is all about the next progression," says Boyd. "We want to get technology into the hands of kids when they need it."