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<p class="fontlook"><B>Laptops for Learning</B>
<p class="fontlook"><!--FOTO1-->Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart is one of the most academically challenging and respected private Catholic institutions in the Southeast. It shares its educational philosophy with 20 other Sacred Heart schools across the United States and in 35 countries around the world. Founded in 1800, the Society of the Sacred Heart nurtures girls into confident, informed, spiritually-centered and responsible women. 

<p class="fontlook">In August 1999, Carrollton joined the <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/Education/aal.mspx" class="fontlook" target="aal">Anytime, Anywhere Learning (AAL)</a> laptop program. This program encourages the use of laptops as an instructional tool for curriculum development, academic research and the completion of assignments. The philosophy that technology will facilitate learning anytime, anywhere is the driving force behind this revolutionary educational program. The program does not concentrate on one class or one academic area. Because of the nature of the program and the eventual disbursement of computers throughout the school, this hands-on approach to instructional technology permeates the entire academic curriculum. Currently there are over 550 students using laptops during the school day in grades 4-12.  Participation in the AAL program is required for all students in grades 5-12.  
Regular and advanced academic courses are rigorous and promote individual and critical thinking as well as encourage the building of community and faith in an atmosphere of wise freedom. The Religious of the Sacred Heart have for two centuries continued to strike the balance between the traditional and the progressive. The integration of laptops into this very traditional and root-bound environment is extremely progressive, challenging, and makes a powerful statement. It has proven to be progressive because so few high schools in the area are laptop schools. It has proven to be challenging because so few teachers and students were really ready for the transition. It has made a powerful statement because after eight years, everyone in the community realizes the impact that technology has in the classroom and the changes that need to take place in our individual curriculum in order to be successful in preparing students for the future. 

<p class="fontlook"><!--FOTO-->Information technology is changing the way in which people interact with each other and how they access, process, create and share information. The rapid growth and continuous evolution of complex technologies in all facets of society and the transformation in the nature of work demand that schooling and its use of technology shift in response. Students are introduced to the collaborative nature of today’s technology and encouraged to use it to communicate with other students and faculty in and out of the classroom.  Just as technology has made the high-performance workplace possible, when it is effectively integrated into classroom instruction at all levels, it can raise both the quality of teaching and the level of student understanding and achievement. 

<p class="fontlook">Philosopher Eric Hoffer stated: In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists. The dynamics which characterize today's age of information and communication dictate that lifelong learning must become the dominant paradigm for education. A desire to learn now and in the future must guide every classroom. The administration and faculty at Carrollton considers technology to be a valuable tool to support and increase students' desire to learn, enhance instruction and increase productivity and efficiency. 

<p class="fontlook">This program has enabled the educators and students to expand into new directions in technology and curriculum integration and will continue to carry students to new levels of interest and accomplishments. Implementation of this program requires that students and teachers use laptop computers throughout the day for instructional purposes. This shift in the educational process brings new challenges and rewards.


