More than 300 students and teachers at three NSW public schools will today begin road-testing new wireless laptops in preparation for the state-wide roll-out to all Year 9 students next Term.

While visiting Arthur Phillip High School in Sydney’s west – one of the trial sites – Premier Nathan Rees said that the two-week test drive would help fine tune the roll-out.

The laptop roll-out will begin with Year 9 students and for the next three years, every new Year 9 class in NSW public schools will receive them. Teachers will begin to receive their laptops at the end of this term with their students receiving them next term.

“During the trial, the computers will be used in a variety of school settings to thoroughly test the technology,” Mr Rees said. “This is the next step in preparing our schools for the roll-out of the $386 million Laptops for Learning program to NSW public schools – part of the Commonwealth Government’s Digital Education Revolution.

“We are gearing up for what will be the biggest change in education and training in the history of this state, so when the roll-out starts we will be ready.” The three schools participating in the trial are Arthur Phillip High School, Cherrybrook Technology High School and Denison College of Secondary Education – Bathurst High Campus.

Mr Rees said the laptops were packed with the latest software and it was important that teachers and their students learn to use these tools properly to get maximum benefit.

“Representatives from Microsoft will be on hand to talk through the operating system and students and teachers will learn about the comprehensive Adobe software package on their new laptops,” Mr Rees said. “Students will also learn about the cutting-edge security on their laptops, including filters to block inappropriate material and encoding to ensure they aren’t a target for theft.

“If a laptop is stolen, we will be able to track its whereabouts, lock the computer and notify the police.” Education Minister Verity Firth said Lenovo (Australia and New Zealand) Pty Ltd was awarded a $150 million contract to build 267,000 laptops for students and teachers.

“Each laptop will have $5,500 of software installed, through world-first agreements the Rees Government signed with Microsoft and Adobe,” Ms Firth said. As the roll-out happens, training will be made available for students and teachers. In addition, 400 full-time technical support officers would be appointed to assist staff and students with IT issues.