Computer bus ready to roll: New program aimed at teaching students typing skills sooner

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Tracy Risinger and Director of Schools Jerry Hale are pictured aboard a new computer bus which will visit the county’s elementary schools this year. (Will Stewart photo)

A school bus retooled as a mobile computer lab will make its way to every county elementary school during the upcoming school year as part of a school system plan to teach kids to type at a younger age.

As it stands now, most county students don’t learn to type until they reach high school, where they are strongly encouraged to take a course in keyboarding. And according to high school keyboarding teacher Tracy Risinger, by the time they get there many have developed bad typing habits, such as the “hunt and peck” method, which can be difficult to unlearn.

“Introducing keyboarding to elementary school students seems to be the logical thing to do,” she said. “Learning correct keyboarding and proper techniques in the elementary grades will give students a head start toward developing the skills needed for future computer use.”

The idea of teaching keyboarding to elementary students has was first brought up several years ago, said school system vocational director Jerry Stubblefield. “It’s been an obvious need for sometime,” he said. The problem has been that the school system simply does not have the funds to purchase a computer lab and provide a keyboarding teacher for every school in the county.

But with the computer bus, we found “a way to meet the need with the resources we have,” Stubblefield said.

The total cost to the school system for the computer bus and all of its components was $25,000. This was used to buy 22 iMac computers, roof top HVAC units and an ADA entrance ramp. Every thing else was donated, including the bus itself, which was contributed by the system’s transportation department as surplus. A $6,000 paint job was provided by Dr Pepper and Osborne-Hessey donated the carpet.

The system’s maintenance department volunteered the labor needed to build shelves and conduct wiring. The technology department donated the keyboarding software and the teacher center donated personnel to clean the bus.

Concurrent with the start of school next month, the bus will begin its travels around the county. Starting at Bobby Ray Elementary, it will spend approximately one month at each school. During this time students in the third, fourth and fifth grades will visit the computer bus for 30-minute sessions.

Risinger will be driving the bus and teaching the young students to type. In her eight years with the school system, she has taught keyboarding every year. Additionally she has taught the essential skill at the Adult High School, Motlow and the Technology Center.