The Coweta County School System has largely completed a distribution of Chromebook devices to students in grades 3-12.
Technology and school staff distributed computers in all Coweta County elementary, middle and high schools before the end of August. That officially makes Coweta Schools a “1-to-1” environment, with students in grades 3 and up each assigned a computer device, said school system spokesman Dean Jackson.
“We’re still distributing a few more devices throughout the high schools, but we’re 99 percent complete,” said Jason Olvey, Technology Director for the Coweta County School System. “East Coweta Middle School gave us a fantastic start to this process, and we refined it each day. Coweta schools technology staff worked with staff at each school staff and from Virtucom, the company that is providing the identification, security and storage system for the school system’s student Chromebooks.”
The devices were assigned to students in the school system’s six middle schools, then all 19 elementary schools, and then high schools by last week.
“The students were well-behaved, and everyone was energized,” said Olvey “I was at Moreland, and there were some kids, when they got their Chromebook, the grin on their face was incredible. You could not have chiseled it off. They were so excited.”
Chromebooks are web-based laptop computers that allow all students and teachers to work and interact in a common online environment. The devices come loaded with the software needed for participation in class, and can be taken home as well for on or off-line student work. Each Chromebook also comes with Internet content filtering software on each machine identical to the filtering used online in schools.
Jackson said part of the planning for the Chromebook rollout included researching other schools district in Georgia and around the nation which also operate in a 1-to-1 environment. The school system converted to a Google-based environment last year, and held employee training throughout the year. The technology plan and upgrades have been funded largely through state technology support grants, E-rate funds and the school system’s ESPLOST funding.
“My students are working with their Chromebooks each day,” said Lindsey McFadden, a fifth grade teacher at Willis Road Elementary School. “They are engaged in research during science to creating presentations and projects.”
McFadden said that Willis Road students are thrilled to have Chromebooks.
“And our teachers are using them to support relevant and rigorous lessons,”McFadden said. ”We love Google Classroom and all the avenues that come with it. Being able to provide students instant feedback utilizing assessments in Google Forms is a big step toward individualized instruction.”
