The Greenon Local School District recently procured a technology donation of 240 laptop computers, valued at $449,000, that will be used to create mobile labs in the district’s buildings and replace outdated equipment.

The most recent donation brings Greenon’s total technology donations in 2013 to $615,000 and 683 new pieces of equipment.

The donations have been made through the Federal Acquisition Service’s Computers for Learning program, which matches educational entities like school districts to federal agencies that have retired computers and related equipment to donate at only the cost of shipping.

“Our district has great need for new, updated technology for our students but we also have significant financial needs and a looming deficit that makes investing in technology difficult,” said Superintendent Dan Bennett. “Through these donations, we have been able to improve our technology to enhance instruction and learning in the district without burdening our limited budget.”

The technology donations have been used to replace outdated computers and equipment throughout the district this fall and the laptops will be used to create mobile labs that students can use in the classrooms in each building.

“Students of today need to be fluent in various forms of technology to prepare them to be successful in their lives after Greenon and fluency is only achieved through thousands of hours of hands-on practice,” said Jim Shaner, Director of Instructional Technology and  STEM Teacher and Greenon High School. “Just as a person would never dream of performing open heart surgery after reading a few articles on the subject, we cannot expect our students to be prepared without rigorous, immersive exposure to technology in the classroom. It is vital that students know how to create, manipulate, evaluate the effectiveness of, and share information using various software and hardware platforms.  By leveraging the technology available, the Greenon Local School District hopes to prepare students for success in the 21st Century workforce, differentiate instruction to challenge every student to grow at their own level and help prepare students to exceed the increasingly rigorous standards. “