With all of the buzz about next year’s 1:1 program, there is also some confusion about whether or not our school is ready for such a dramatic technological change. To answer our questions, the reporting staff went to Client Service Specialist Eric Warfel, the “tech expert” of Western Albemarle.

What have you been doing to prepare for next year? Do you think there will be enough power outlets for everyone to charge their laptops?

What we’ve been doing for 1:1 is going around to every room, counting the number of outlets, the positions of the desks, and even seeing if they have windows. We are going through the school and mapping it all out, and then if there are any rooms that we see don’t have enough power, we’re going to bring in charging stations. Hopefully the students will come with charged laptops, but you know that doesn’t always happen.

Will there will be tech support for the laptops?

One thing we’re going to create in the library is a student help desk. So at certain times of the day, students can come in if they’re having trouble with the software or their network isn’t working, and we’ll help alleviate that.

What do you think will be some of the benefits of every freshman having their own laptop?

Right now you see a lot of people bring their own devices anyway, and this program is really to move in the direction of everyone having a device and integrating them into the learning. The 1:1 initiative is not supposed to take away from classroom learning – the laptops are going to be like another tool or a textbook.