Chromebooks for Students
At Wickersley Partnership Trust we are committed to providing the best education possible for our students. This includes access to resources that will support learning and develop skills useful for employment and further education.
Our secondary schools have rolled out a ‘Chromebooks for Students’ scheme. Parents are given the opportunity to purchase a chromebook for their child to help support them in their learning. Since we launched the scheme we are proud to say that over 1000 students across our secondary schools have purchased a Chromebook, and they have become an integral teaching tool.
We must stress, however, that the scheme is voluntary. Special provision is made for those who choose not to join it, to ensure no-one is disadvantaged.
If you are a parent of a child in one of our secondary schools and would like more information about the scheme, please see your school’s website.
Why have we chosen Chromebooks?
As a Trust, we have chosen to introduce Chromebooks because our students have shown they really enjoy working with the Google for Education Suite of products. This includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides, as well as Google Classroom. This has brought a new dimension to our students’ learning experience.
Unlike traditional laptops, Chromebooks have the advantage of being able to survive a whole day at school without charging; they are extremely quick to start up and are almost completely resilient to viruses.
Primary School Chromebooks
Over the past two years, we have significantly invested in Chromebooks across our primary schools. We are proud to say that across our 8 primary schools, almost 300 Chromebooks are available to aid the onsite provision of teaching and learning.
Chromebooks have made a monumental difference to teaching and learning throughout the Trust primary schools. Our children have gained a real sense of independence and love that they can edit their work alongside their teacher online. Sharing information, researching topics and presenting learning has never been easier. We have been able to delve deeper in parts of the curriculum than ever before due to the speed of the device and the touchscreen features. Chromebooks are now integrated into everyday lessons, whilst also being used for computing. They are easy to use, great for watching videos or listening to sounds and are perfect for children with a SEND.
Here are a few reasons why we think that chromebooks have been a huge benefit in Year 6:
- They are fabulous to use for research as often we don't always have the books available for children or have enough for the class relating to all our topics for every subject.
- Having the chromebooks enables children to search the internet for knowledge around specific areas of our topic. This can be a skill in itself.
- In English, the chromebooks are a great resource to use as a dictionary or thesaurus.
- We have used the chromebooks alongside learning through interactive games. A particular example of this is the whole school sign up to TT Rockstars. Children can interactively practice their times tables on chromebooks and challenge themselves and compete against others.
- We teach and encourage editing within writing. Children have said that they prefer writing and editing work on chromebooks as they like to see their finished work without all the editing and mistakes being visible like you would in books.
- Children produce written work on chromebooks and can share it with their teachers. This enables us to mark and give feedback ready for the children to edit and make improvements to their work.
- Children often use chromebooks to share their learning with their peers. They can share their work with a friend who will comment on positives and where improvements can be made. Children really like the ability to peer assess each others' work on chromebooks.
- In science, children love it that they can write scientifically but also copy and paste illustrations, data and diagrams to back up what they have learnt.
How Technology Supports Students' Learning
Independent academic research undertaken in Scotland during 2013 by the University of Hull found that:
The ownership of a personal mobile device facilitates many of the pedagogical aspirations set out in Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence framework.
The adoption of personal mobile technologies significantly increases access to technology for students, which brings many benefits for learning such as greater motivation, engagement, parental involvement, and understanding of complex ideas.