The first batch of 17,300 laptops for distribution to this year's Form One students arrived in T&T on Wednesday. The first 6,000 laptops already have been cleared by Customs and Excise and are ready for distribution, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The remaining laptops will arrive in batches over the next two weeks, with distribution scheduled to begin next Wednesday at an average of 15 schools a day. All 127 technicians attached to the Ministry of Education, within the secondary school system, will help the distributor to guarantee the success of the distribution over a two-week period. This year, students will receive Lenovo laptops with carrying cases and 14 software packages provided by Microsoft, as opposed to only seven last year.
These software packages include:
• Windows 7 Professional;
• Office 2010 Professional;
• Microsoft Windows Live Essentials:
• Microsoft Mathematics 4.0
• Microsoft Kodu
• Microsoft Math Add-in;
• Microsoft Chemistry Add-in for Word;
• Microsoft Autocollage;
• Microsoft Photosynth;
• Microsoft Bing Maps;
• Microsoft Bing Search
• Microsoft Bing Translator;
• Microsoft Worldwide Telescope-virtual telescope; and
• Microsoft Small Basic - introduction to programming for children.
They also will be provided with all the links to Nalis' recommended eResources for Secondary School Projects, the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago as well as the ministry's Guidelines for Laptop Usage. There also will be improved security and monitoring features. The Government spent an estimated $53 million, which is about $30 million less than last year, to provide every child going on to secondary school from the SEA with his or her own laptop. Each laptop will cost approximately US$460, US$100 less than last year. A digital portal also will be bought to store information from the curriculum for students' use.