<p>NORMAL In a case of if they'd known then what they know now, McLean County Unit 5 likely would have chosen a different device when it rolled out its sixth grade netbook program this fall.</p><p>Unit 5 district distributed Asus netbooks, which are small laptops, to about 1,100 sixth graders from its four junior high schools at the start of the school year. It soon became clear the devices had a defect that doesn't make them durable enough for sixth graders who use for much of the school day and also take them home.</p><p>When the device is opened in a certain way, the start button malfunctions. The district is working with the manufacturer for a solution and is considering other options for the purchase of its next round of devices for fall 2013, said Superintendent Gary Niehaus.</p><p>The netbooks are part of the district's "digital conversion" program, aimed at getting more technology in the hands of students. Next year, sixth and seventh graders, and possibly eighth graders, if the budget allows, will be given netbooks to use during the school year, Niehaus said.</p><p><a href="http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/education/unit-looking-at-other-options-for-netbook-program/article_fe8167d8-6744-11e2-a106-0019bb2963f4.html">Keep reading...</a></p>