Berkeley Institute has entered a new dimension of education.

All of the school's 35 teachers have received laptop computers, believed to cost some $3,000 each, from the Education Ministry. No one from the Ministry could be reached to confirm the exact costs.

But principal Michelle Gabisi called the investment a "powerful tool''.

"The teachers are just beaming,'' Ms Gabisi told The Royal Gazette . "The possibility for lesson preparations, presentations that can be used in the classrooms, and administration work is endless. This will benefit every aspect of teaching.'' Staff at the Berkeley are the first group of classroom teachers at a public school to receive laptops.

And English, drama and media studies teacher Jocelyn Wiley -- hardly able to contain her excitement -- said the laptops will give classroom teachers remote access to the school's computer network so they can work from home, including marking and distributing assignments, without carrying mounds of paper and books.

"Teachers should be able to post assignments on the network where students will be able to access them,'' she added. "This way teachers don't have to copy assignments.

"Of course this brings e-mail to teachers which makes doing our job more efficient. Before this if we wanted to get a message to another teacher we would have to leave the classroom.'' Ms Wiley said while students did not have laptops they will benefit from the teachers having them.

"They will be able to use desktop computers in some classrooms and the library to access the assignments,'' she explained. "This makes the kids more computer efficient so that they get used to using computers to communicate.

This will prepare them for the workplace.'' Teachers have received brief instruction on using the laptops and accessing their e-mail.

They are expected to embark on further training after the Christmas holiday.

"Teachers are excited and very anxious to get hands-on technology,'' Ms Wiley concluded. "In a way it puts more responsibility on us. We will have to use more creative means of teaching. But this will benefit us and the students.''