MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) Members of the Horry County School Board and the technology committee met Tuesday afternoon at Myrtle Beach High School to discuss the progress and future of tablets in schools.
The program is scheduled to expand to 3rd and 4th graders next year. The committee recommended purchasing one device for every two students.
School board member Ray Winters says in the blended classroom model at that level the teachers would work one-on-one with half of the class while the other half would be on the device.
He says the concept of having students share a tablet is one they anticipated and not solely based upon money.
“With the new middle schools opening there’s certainly some financial considerations to go with that but it’s not the only consideration. I won’t say that’s not some of the equation,” Winters said.
The school board will vote on the recommendation at their meeting next Monday
The committee also discussed how to deal with the broken tablets from this year.
The district said they are fixed or are in the process of fixing around 60 percent of the tablets from middle school students this year.
That compares to just 18 percent at the high school level and only one percent for 5th graders.
Horry County Schools IT Director Charles Hucks said the middle school damage is way more than they expected.
The committee is now discussing a way to control the problem but did not reach a solution on Tuesday.