(For those new to the column, Forward Migration is our term for companies moving from Wintel machines to Macs — or at least adding or increasing the number of Macs they use. A Forward Migration Kit is an overview of Mac OS products for a particular occupation, such as photography, optometry, etc.)
At Fremont (CA) High School, Apple products such as AppleWorks and iBooks are used in teacher Jerry Smith’s Computer Information Technology class, a course targeted to students who use English as a second language.
The class teaches key skills — such as word processing, database management, presentations and graphic design — that prepare students to enter the world of work.
“We know what world these students are going to enter,” Fremont assistant principal April Scott said in an Apple Hot news story. “If we don’t incorporate technology, we’re doing the student a disservice. We’re not preparing them to leave us.”
However, the challenge has been to prepare students for a technological world when there just aren’t enough computer labs nor room to add them. The answer: iBooks. A Digital High School grant enabled the school to buy more than 100 iBooks, and now teachers have access to six mobile labs that can be wheeled in and out of their classrooms. The iBooks are equipped with AirPort wireless technology, so students have Internet access from anywhere on campus.
“We offer so many computer classes. but we don’t have enough fixed labs to accommodate them,” Scott told Apple. “As labs become precious commodities, these mobile labs become really valuable. They allow us to continue teaching computer classes, but in a regular classroom setting. And because the computers give us wireless Internet access, students can do research in the classroom. We don’t have to shuttle kids back and forth between labs, or tell them to research something at home and then come back.”
Smith said students in the Computer Information Technology course have good grades, good attendance records, and obviously enjoy the class and the technology used. He uses Apple Network Assistant with AirPort technology to wirelessly manage classroom projects.
“I love this feature, especially if I want to know who’s working on what,” Smith told Apple. “From my desk, I can check any student’s work. If someone is having a problem with a certain task, I can remotely provide individual instruction. Or I can demo something to all the students. This is a really great tool for managing a class where students work on so many different projects. Totally cool.”
Students store their work on the iBooks. Smith plans to use iTools on iDisk with 20 MB of disk space — “more than enough space for a class like this.” Using iTools and iDisk, students can access their classwork from home, and Smith can check student work from any location.
“What we want to do is prepare these kids to go out into the marketplace and use programs like Adobe Illustrator, PageMaker, and other high-end tools,” he told Apple. “And although I teach two other CTI classes — and would have thought that this would have been my problem class — it’s my best class. In terms of scoring, this class just blows the other ones away. These kids can push this as far as they want.”
Meanwhile, the Village Ace Hardware, 6240 N. Port Washington Road, Glendale, WI, has implemented an iMac cash register system, according to Charles Trimberger, a store customer and MacCentral reader.
“They have four iMacs as cash registers, and I am sure there are more Macs in their network elsewhere in the store,” he told MacCentral. “Apparently, the owner has a relative who writes custom software, and developed the software specifically for this use. These systems come complete with bar code scanners and the whole thing.”
Finally, the law office of the Puyallup Indian Tribe and the Tribal Newspaper are done exclusively on Macs. There are iMacs on all desks and a Power Mac G3 Server, according to Joseph W. Edgell, Jr.
Know of a Forward Migration story? E-mail it to us at dsellers@maccentral.com.