|  | | Critical Thinkers, Confident Learners Balanced Literacy Program Learning Center & Counseling | |
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| ISR’s leadership sees technology as an essential tool to fulfill its mission by integrating the use of 21st century resources in the learning process.
In recent years technology has undergone a dramatic transformation, driven by the rise of social media, Wikis, and Web 2.0 as communication media. Students claim new teaching methods.
Vision of the program:
- Middle school students will bring a laptop to school that will be used in all of their core subjects.
- Teachers will encourage students to learn and grow outside the classroom walls.
- Students will have ubiquitous access to information, high order problem solving, and content creation.
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| | Q. | What is a 1:1 program? | | A. | The teacher and every student have a technology resource (in this case, laptops) that they integrate in their regular class to engage students and develop their high order reasoning, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. |
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| Q. | Where can I buy the laptops? | | A. | The laptops may be bought mainly from Soluciones Exa. They are offering a special price for ISR families. Starting now, you can visit their offices and identify yourselves as an ISR family, using a student ID, to buy either of the suggested laptop models.
Soluciones EXA
Río San Lorenzo 401
Col. Fuentes del Valle
Monterrey, NL CP 66220
T. (81) 8356 1153
www.exa.com.mx
Another important point to consider is that all the laptops will have to go through a deployment process in order to be used at ISR. This has a cost of $1,300 pesos tax included but, Soluciones Exa, won’t charge this fee to the parents that buy their computers from them.
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| Q. | Is there an option to buy the laptop in monthly installments? | | A. | The laptop may be purchased in Soluciones EXA in six or 12-month installments with an 8% and 14% interest rate respectively, using Visa, Master Card or Banamex cards.
Soluciones EXA
Río San Lorenzo 401
Col. Fuentes del Valle
Monterrey, NL CP 66220
T. (81) 8356 1153
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| Q. | May I purchase the laptop with a vendor other than Soluciones EXA? | | A. | Yes, you may purchase the equipment wherever you wish. However, the price offered by is considerably low compared to other vendors (Mexican and international).
The laptops bought with another vendor must have the school’s software image installed, and go through a deployment process, which has a cost of $1,300 tax included. |
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| Q. | If my son or daughter already has an Apple laptop, can they bring it to school? | | A. | Yes, however, they must go through a deployment process in order to be used at ISR. This has a cost of $1,300 pesos tax included. |
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| Q. | Which grades are included in the 1:1 Program? | | A. | The program will begin in school year 2011-2012 in grades 7 and 8. |
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| Q. | Will the use of laptops be mandatory during classes? | | A. | It is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended. |
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| Q. | Starting when will students have to bring their laptops to school? | | A. | After returning from Christmas break (January 2012) |
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| Q. | What benefits will the use of a laptop during class offer to students? | | A. |
- Increases motivation
- Increases retention
- Facilitates differentiated instruction
- Allows collaborative and personalized instruction
- Promotes global collaboration
- Reduces indiscipline occurrences
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| Q. | Can I buy a laptop from other makers? | | A. | You are free to buy equipment from any brand; however Apples’ platform is the only one ISR will offer support for, and is the one in which teachers will develop and implement their instruction programs. |
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| Q. | What are the technical characteristics of the laptops? | | A. | The laptops we suggest are:
MacBook White
13.3” LED Screen
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.26 GHz Processor
2 GB RAM Memory
250 GB Hard Drive
Software image to be used at ISR
MacBook Pro
13.3” LED Screen
Software image to be used at ISR |
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| Q. | Will there be secured lockers where students can keep their laptops? | | A. | Yes, Middle School lockers will be changed around November.
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| Q. | What’s included in tech support that ISR will offer for students in the 1:1 Program? | | A. | For students enrolled in the 1:1 Program, ISR will offer tech support for those services that are available inside campus such as: internet access, wireless connections, and academic software access, among others.
In the event where the equipment presents major software or hardware failures such as hard drive damage or keyboard damage, you will have to contact the supplier who sold the laptop.
We highly recommend getting the Apple Care guarantee that will make solving these problems easier. |
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| Q. | Does the laptop come with a case or other accessory for transportation? | | A. | No, there are a lot of laptop cases available that will adapt to the necessities and style of each student. Soluciones EXA has several models available. |
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| Q. | What is the deployment and what does it include? | | A. | The deployment process is a necessary service, which includes installing a series of authorized software, property of ISR, configurations, and additional support services that will allow the student to participate in assignments within ISR without any problems.
Among them are:
- Controlled Internet access to the ISR wireless network
- Controlled Internet content access
- Access to printers and other additional devices
- Remote administration of documents
- Teacher monitoring and follow-up within the classroom
- Collaboration services between teachers and students
Additionally, it includes support in problems arising from the operating system and Apple software included in projects during the current school year. (For example: system errors, application errors, and recovering information).
The deployment process allows a standardization of the configurations and preferences of the 1:1 Program members; this allows teachers and IT team to have better control and monitoring of the equipment.
For these reasons, the deployment process is not optional and must be centralized with one supplier.
Even when the equipment is property of the ISR family, it will be used within the ISR premises and, as part of the 1:1 Program, has to comply with the policies of use for this project.
Finally, it is important to note that the deployment process is NOT a purchase of software; it is a launching service and technical support for the rest of the school year. The software that will be used in the laptops is licensed and property of ISR. |
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| | | | 1:1 Program - Mac Guided Tours | |
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