Section+2

= = =Section 2 - Examining Alternative Policies=

One on One Ratio
** The One on One Ratio idea for computers is where every student in a school has their own personal laptop to use for their school activities. They have their books online, they do their assignments on the computer, and they don't have textbooks or notebooks. This system has already been put forth in small schools and some colleges, with incredible results. If a student has a laptop for their schoolwork, it completely eliminates the cost of books and most other materials for the school, making the laptops pay for themselves in a number of years. A laptop also eliminates the cost of materials for individual students, if the laptop is provided by the school. It would also be unfathomably simpler for work to get done, with applications such as google docs, completing and turning in assignments can be done from almost anywhere. However, there are some problems with the system. Perhaps the most glaring one is the initial gargantuan cost that faces the school. Laptops are expensive, and when you have about 1300 students this problem is multiplied. And even though the laptops will eventually pay for themselves, some serious money will have to be put down to start the system. Also, computers are extremely easy to be changed, so cheating could be possibly easier for students to do. Damage would also be a problem, computers can break easily, so students would have to sign a waiver of some sort to combat the cost of maintenance. Our group discovered this policy through online research done by Taylor Bergman and Seth Marx. **

Checkout System
** The Checkout System is where a student at the end of the day would be able to go to the library, check out a computer, and take it home to either work on a project or do regular work on if the student doesn't own a home computer, or doesn't own Microsoft Office. The laptops could be fitted with bar codes just like library books have, so there would be virtually no cost to the school. We also have plenty of laptops, so unless there is a large demand for the laptops, the school would not have to purchase any more. There would also be an almost seamless transition into the program, all the action that would have to be taken is putting on the bar codes and entering the computers into the system, and writing a waiver that students would have to sign. After that, we are pretty much home free. One disadvantage is that some students might take advantage of the system, only taking the computers out to play games or perform tasks that would harm the computer, but there is such a small number of students that would do this that the problem would be almost nonexistent. Also, it would be easy to find the people who tampered with the computers, so we can catch the students who would do that and make sure they never do it again. Our group came up with this alternative policy on our own.

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