NATCHEZ &045; The burden on the Natchez-Adams School District technology department is just a little smaller this year.

Though the number of computers continues to grow, a few extra technicians are using their skills to update district machines.

Twenty-five students in Fallin Career and Technology Center’s computer system technology class spend two hours a day updating memory, switching out processors and defragging district computers. The class meets three times a day, each for two-hour blocks.

&uot;(The district technology department) is so swamped with all they have to do,&uot; teacher Shannon Burts said. &uot;We can help with a little troubleshooting and the teachers have been great letting us come in their classrooms and get lots of hands-on experience.&uot;

The class is in its first year at Fallin and is one of only 10 in the state. The school applied to offer the course last year when the drafting program was eliminated. Approval came over the summer and most of the students were rounded up over the phone during summer vacation.

Burts, who used to teach technology discovery at the high school, said the students spent a couple of weeks learning from the textbook before they were called to McLaurin Elementary for a crash course on troubleshooting.

Since then the students have made regular visits to McLaurin, Morgantown and the high school. Classroom work and tests are squeezed in between hands-on work.

The current project is taking memory from old computer units to add memory to newer computers to be placed in the high school. The students are also freeing up space on computers and adding software for the coaches’ facility and the band hall at the school.

The computer recycling is something paid technicians do across the country, Burts said.

&uot;We started out small and now we basically do everything ourselves,&uot; 10th-grader Jarett Logan said.

The students who have an interest in pursuing a computer technology career will have a head start, Burts said, but the others are also learning valuable skills.

&uot;There are some type of computers at any job,&uot; she said. &uot;Just being able to fix their own computer and troubleshoot will help. I can’t brag enough on them.&uot;

JorDon Smith, a 10th-grader, said he was planning to major in computer engineering, possibly at Mississippi State.

The class also includes one Trinity Episcopal student, Wyatt Craig, who drives over for the class.

&uot;I heard they had the program over here,&uot; Craig said. &uot;I’ve learned how to build a whole computer almost.&uot;

The second year of the course, which will be offered next year, includes Web page design and more focus on software programs. Students who sign up for the class commit to the two-year program.