District Five middle school students receive Chromebooks

IRMO, SC – Middle school students in Lexington-Richland School District Five have a new classroom tool.

The district began distributing Chromebooks to all middle school students on Sept. 22 as part of its iFive Technology initiative, a project aimed at using technology to enhance curricula and student learning. More than 4,100 Chromebooks will be provided to middle school students district-wide.

“This was an important step for District Five, and several departments pulled together to make the distribution possible,” said Gary Black, District Five Chief of Technology. “Chromebooks are a great tool for students because they are fast, user-friendly and provide students with the ability to gain real-world skills. It’s just the tip of the iceberg as we will now put measures in place to support this initiative for years to come.”

The Google-operated devices were chosen by a panel of staff, parents, community members and technology experts who picked it for its keyboarding capability, built-in security measures and cost effectiveness. Last year, District Five provided all of its high school students with iPad minis, which were collected before the summer break and redistributed to ninth through 12th graders at the start of the 2014-2015 school year. Classroom sets of tablets have been donated and distributed to some teachers at elementary schools, where students are beginning to use the devices in their classroom activities.

Over the next few years, the district will continue to transition to a Device Adaptable Technology System (DATS™) that will not rely on a single device or technology provider. As District Five moves to that system, it will be upgrading its technology infrastructure and systems to ensure they can quickly adapt to ever-changing technology offerings, school officials said.

“Thanks to the vision of our superintendent with the support of our school board, we are able to offer devices to support our instructional vision of preparing students to be college or career ready,” said Dr. Christina Melton, District Five Chief Instructional Officer.

Educators aim to use the devices to teach students 21^st Century skills, including: downloading classroom material, researching information online, uploading assignments, posting and responding to online discussion threads, participating in real-time discussions and balancing academic work in a digital environment.

On Sept. 22 as Chromebooks were carted to classrooms, students like Dutch Fork Middle seventh graders Emily Osment and Brianna Coppock could hardly control their excitement as they received their devices and powered on for the first time.

“Internet is my life,” said Osment, who already uses her Nook and smartphone daily. “I think it will help us pay attention. Because we like and use the Internet so much, this will definitely help.”

Coppock said the Chromebook will eventually help her “get a job.” “You can’t really get a job if you’re typing like this,” she said, simulating typing with two index fingers. “I can type really fast on my phone, but this is going to help with learning to type on a keyboard and take notes.”

As students transition to using Chromebooks, teachers also have tailored lesson plans.

“Right now (on the first day), they’re mostly excited about taking pictures and things like that. But once we start using them in the classroom, I think they’re really going to enjoy how it can help them in school,” said Dutch Fork Middle Language Arts Teacher Kristi Grooms. “It’s just going to make things so easy for them…If they need to research something or look something up, everything will just be at their fingertips now.”

Early concerns over security have been managed with planning prior to distribution, Black said. To ensure online safety at schools, the devices operate behind an Internet content filter, following the Child Internet Protection Act of 2000 guidelines. Devices are also monitored to make sure they are being used as instructional tools within the classroom via a Mobile Device Management Server. These restrictions are only applied within the district and do not follow the student home, school officials said.

To address concerns regarding physical security, devices are password protected by each student and assigned to each student by device serial number. Students were also briefed on technology policies and the district’s vision for this initiative, and the district also has provided measures to allow students to securely store devices while in PE and other class activities that may not require the use of the devices.

“With these measures in place, we look forward to providing students with a technology tool that will keep them focused and involved in the instructional process,” Black said.