District officials say students will have their own, individual Google Chromebook laptop computer for use throughout the school day.
Students in Mt. Laurel’s K-8 schools are used to having technology integrated into many of their lessons, but starting this September, they will become even more adept at using computers to further their studies when the district launches its one-to-one computer initiative.
Soon after the school year begins on Sept. 7, district officials say every student in grades one through eight will have their own Google Chromebook laptop for use throughout the school day.
“We’re very excited to be able to roll out one-to-one technology for all our students, which is really amazing,” Superintendent George Rafferty said. “Not counting kindergarten, which is around 400 students, you’re looking at 3,800 students in our district that each will have technology available to them throughout the day.”
Although the full implementation of the one-to-one initiative will begin this school year, the district began purchasing Chromebooks in 2014 to prepare for the then-newly state-mandated Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers assessment.
The test, which students must take through computers, was not compatible with the Apple computers the district previously used.
In the years since, when the Chromebooks weren’t being used by students for PARCC testing during the majority of the school year, teachers have shared the computers for various lessons between classrooms by rolling the computers from one room to the next on carts.
Students have then become accustomed to taking a computer to their desk or sharing with a table as they used the technology in the day’s lessons.
Since the district purchased its initial round of Chromebooks in 2014, it has continued to purchase additional Chromebooks every year, leading to this upcoming school year where the district finally has enough to allow every student in grades one through eight to use the device each day.
According to the district, students in younger grades will be able to use the Chromebooks in their main homeroom classroom throughout the day, while students in older grades who travel to several rooms throughout the day will be given small carrying cases to transport their devices.
At the end of each school day, students will leave their Chromebooks at school to recharge for use the next day.
District officials say all teachers will also have a Chromebook for use with their students.
Rafferty, who started with the district as superintendent last year, said he was pleased to spend some of his early days in the district traveling to different schools and learning technology was already being used by students and staff, particularly in the elementary schools.
“We do a lot of innovative, creative integration of technology here in Mt. Laurel. Now that we have that accessible for all students in grades one through eight, it’s really going to be amazing what our teachers and staff can do,” Rafferty said.
Although the district is still finalizing some details of distribution and accounting, Rafferty said parents would learn more about the one-to-one initiative as the new school year gets closer.
