It was like textbook check-out day at Pleasant Valley Middle School on Thursday, but this time with a modern twist.
One by one at the school library, students checked out their very own Chromebook laptops, stripped-down computers that use Google operating systems and software. The school’s 149 seventh-graders are among the first in Battle Ground Public Schools to pilot the district’s Chromebook rollout.
Seventh-graders at Amboy Middle School and Tukes Valley Middle School also received Chromebooks last week, making a total group of 417 students testing the program.
The district will eventually put Chromebooks into the hands of every student in third through 12th as a part of its 1:1 computing initiative.
“It’s light years past where we were years ago,” said Scott McDaniel, director of technology services for the district.
Area districts have been in various phases of rolling out devices to their students for several years. Battle Ground teachers have had shared carts of Chromebooks in their classrooms for students to use, but last week’s transition means students can now take them home to continue working on school projects.
Vancouver Public Schools is slated to finish checking out iPads to its third- through 12th-grade students next year, and Evergreen Public Schools is slated to put Chromebooks, Surface Pros or other computers to its fourth- through 12th-grade students by the beginning of next school year.
McDaniel, by his own admission, is giddy at the possibilities the program will allow the district. Students’ learning can become more dynamic, he said. They can go back and rewrite drafts of research reports or add photos and videos, and teachers are better able to work one-on-one with students to help them fine tune their projects.
“We are able to work with individual students very, very easily,” he said. “That is by far the most beautiful thing.”
That’s already been a boon for seventh-grade English and history teacher Mandie Thompson. Thompson is able to see what her students are working on at any given time, even when she’s not in the classroom with her students.
“It creates a lot more transparency,” she said.
That means she can spot trends among students who are more advanced or further behind. She can discreetly assign more work to students who are having an easier time with material, while spending more individual time with students who are struggling.
“I can differentiate in some really amazing ways,” she said.
Thompson added that she’s seeing students more excited to complete their school work. Students who once struggled to complete their assignments are more likely to finish them if they get to use Chromebooks, and students are excited at the thought of writing for their blogs rather than traditional reports — even if, she notes, they’re actually the same thing.
“It allows for that same activity in a different way,” she said.
McDaniel also touted equity as a key reason to send students home with computers. Many district students do not have computers at home, which can put some kids behind.
Sending students home with their own computers ensures that learning continues at home, he said.
“Every student should have access to the exact same tools, whether they’re at school or at home,” he said. “They all can check out a textbook. Why wouldn’t we make sure we can put these other resources in students’ hands?”
Minutes after receiving his Chromebook, 13-year-old Christopher Lassiter and his friend 12-year-old Alex Baumgartner were checking out the laptops’ suite of programs.
Both said using computers has made school easier and more fun. Baumgartner even shared a sentiment unusual for most kids: excitement to do his homework.
“We get to actually study at home,” Baumgartner said.
