Sep. 21--Classroom computers are shrinking.

More local students are using "netbooks" at school. The small computers are much lighter and cheaper than traditional laptop computers.

One sign of that shift took place when the Irving school district decided in May to begin replacing aging and bulkier student laptops with about 4,600 netbooks.

"It's a lot easier to carry," said Luis Hernandez, 11, a Travis Middle School student. "I like how it looks, and it has a camera."

In his sixth-grade gifted science class, students leaned in to focus on their 10-inch screens as they constructed bar graphs and pie charts.

Their teacher, Lizette Burks, said their first reaction to their smaller computers was "they're cute." The school also has 300 netbooks on carts that teachers share.

The district leads the area in so-called 1:1 computing, since it aims to provide a laptop to every high school student.

The smaller computers are more closely related to cellphones, which many students are familiar with. They're also not the best option for advanced video production capabilities.

But educators say they are ideal for basic functions as more schools get wireless access and move textbooks and lessons online.

When the Grand Prairie school district opened its new Dubiski Career High School this fall, officials ordered about 1,200 Dell netbooks to give to students.

For about a year, Richardson has used HP netbooks with about 300 students in the STEM math and science academy at Berkner High School.

"Kids are used to using cellphones and iPods," said Sandra Hayes, Richardson's executive director of technology. "The large screen doesn't really matter to kids."

She said drawbacks include the lack of DVD and CD drives, so students must save files on their flash or network drives.

Irving opted to spend about $2.8 million this year in technology bond funds with vendor M&A for ASUS 1000HE eeePC units to replace older Dell laptops used by middle and high school students.

The district made the decision before other companies released newer models and prices began dropping. Irving ISD is paying about $597 per unit including warranty and software. The school district previously paid around $1,000 for each laptop.

Some high school students in Irving previously complained about the weight of carrying larger laptops in addition to books around school. The district struggled with students leaving their computers at home.

Plugging in to constantly charge computers also was a challenge. The netbooks have longer battery life.