Chromebooks Program
At Glen Eira College we are striving to provide our students with learning tools that will assist them to achieve outstanding results. We are excited about the introduction of the Chromebook program, after careful consideration and research in 2014 which included;
- engaging an ICT and pedagogy expert from the DET who works with schools to support the use of ICT to support student learning
- visiting and liaising with schools that already have a Chromebook program in place
- having a small number of students and teachers use the devices for 2 terms
- having a class use the devices for an entire term
- professional development for staff
- testing and refinement of the ICT infrastructure
A Chromebook is a small, portable, relatively low-cost device that allows students and teachers to use the full range of applications available in the Google Apps for Education suite. Chromebooks have been very successfully deployed in schools across the USA and New Zealand. The devices are to be used for educational use only.
All students in Years 8 – 11 are asked to have a Chromebook. This will enable all students with 24-7 access to a range of digital learning opportunities. At Year 12 a more specialised BYOD program will operate. This program will ultimately provide every student with access to the internet and a tool to access individualised and collaborative learning. We believe digital learning opportunities are critical in the 21st century, preparing students for the modern workplace.
Our teachers undergo ongoing professional learning to enable them to use the Google Apps for Education suite. This will allow for a range of learning tasks to be completed on a digital platform, giving greater emphasis to online collaboration and facilitating important feedback between teacher and student on classroom work.
