Hundred High School is located in a small rural community in West Virginia with an enrollment of approximately 170 students enrolled in grades 9-12.

During the 1998-99 term, the school began with the implementation of the NetSchools solution. With this program, every student in the school was provided a durable StudyPro™ laptop, which could be used both as a stand-alone computer and as a wireless, networked computer. The laptops were loaded with a number of applications including MicroSoft Works word processing, spreadsheet and database software as well as a popular browser, email, a presentation creation package and a graphing program.

Not only does every student have a laptop, but also every teacher was given a laptop for instructional as well as classroom management tasks. In addition to the same application packages, teachers were provided with an email package, an Internet browser, and special classroom management tools. These tools include AIS Desktop Monitor which allows each teacher to control student laptops from their desks, and the Curriculum Browser/Search Tool developed by NetSchools for access to a large database of tested Internet sites that have been correlated to the West Virginia Instructional Goals and Objectives.

The teachers have incorporated this technology into daily classroom instruction in a number of ways. Through the use of several application software packages students are able to complete assignments using the application tools, using email for receiving and submitting assignments or collaborating with other students on group tasks, accessing information using the Internet browser, creating presentations to share with others and participating in mentoring projects.

Through the Wetzel County Board of Education, an important vehicle for enhancing school home communications has been added. Students and teachers have local dial-up access to the school server which provides the opportunity for accessing files stored on the server as well as the Internet from home during the evenings and weekends. Parents/guardians were included in the initial training and dissemination of the technology, and were encouraged to communicate with teachers and students using the technology provided to their children. Parents also have the opportunity to observe what their children are doing in the classroom by viewing assignments and files on the laptops.

To increase the level of success for this program, the package purchased from NetSchools provides on-site teacher and student instructional training, and technical support throughout the first year of implementation. Evaluation data of the program is being collected on a continual basis to establish the effectiveness of the program in terms of student learning as well as teacher progress in delivering instruction through this new technology model.