Grade 4 students at Eckville Elementary School have eagerly embraced their new virtual workspace world of doing school work on Chromebooks.
Principal Ian McLaren explains that Chromebooks are a portal to the internet, do not have a hard drive, are low maintenance and are fairly inexpensive.
Looking like a medium sized laptop and having a speedy start time, students set up their own devices and enter the big world of Google.
Within their own workspace, students can work independently or simultaneously in groups to complete an assignment and hand in a digital copy. Parents even have the ability to view what their children have been working on in school.
Students’ assignments are created and stored in the ‘cloud’ or on the internet.
This is the first time the school has had Chromebooks and even as a pilot test, the students love working in their new digital world.
Not only do the devices make it easier for students to complete their school work, students are also learning the environmental benefits of going digital.
“They are easier to use because you don’t always use up school supplies,” said Grade 4 student Aaron Knudsen.
Chelsey Ackerman teaches the enthusiastic class and said the initiative allows her to teach in a unique and exciting way.
“The students are really excited for these books, they are doing awesome with using them,” she said. “They are environmentally friendly — instead of paper, I have digital copy.”