The arrival of 260 new Chromebooks at Clinton County Middle School is the first mass deployment of individual technology devices in the school district.

The Chromebooks will stock ten mobile carts that will be available for student use in classrooms. Each grade level will maintain the use of two carts on a permanent basis, and two additional carts will be available for flexible scheduling.

The Chromebooks were purchased using Gear Up Grant and KETS matching funds. With the deployment of the Chromebooks, CCMS has become a Google Apps for Education school.

Google Apps for Education (GAFE) is a core suite of communication and collaboration applications that allows students to work from any device on documents and projects. The apps include Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, and Sites.

A GAFE account will unlock these and many other tools supported by Google, and each student and teacher at CCMS has a GAFE account. All of the applications exist completely online (in the cloud), which means that creations can be accessed through any device with an internet connection.

As a result, students can continue work started on their Chromebook at school by logging in at home. Many teachers are in the process of setting up their own Google classrooms, which will allow them to make assignments and conduct assessments through GAFE.

District Technology Coordinator Sid Scott has been integral to this process. While assisting with the preparation of the Chromebook carts, he expressed his excitement about this new development.

“We’re meeting the students where they learn best, and that’s with their own devices in the classrooms,” Scott said.

He contrasted this more efficient and relevant method with the “old way” of doing things, in which teachers moved an entire classroom of students to a computer lab in order to access technology. Scott is obviously thrilled about this step forward.

CCMS Principal Teresa Scott is also overjoyed about the addition of the new technology.

“Our teachers and students are showing signs of excitement about a new way of teaching and learning at the middle school. Teachers are sharing ideas and students who have experience working with Chromebooks are offering what they know,” she explained. “It’s a beautiful thing to see us moving in this direction.”

The principal also noted that while it is the students who will ultimately benefit the most from this added technology equipment at the school, there would also be a learning opportunity for the staff as well, and in some cases, the roll of teacher and student could easily be switched.

“Instead of students being educated the same way we were, we are now starting to educate them using the technology they have grown up with,” Teresa Scott said. “There may be some role changes between students and teachers since kids are more savvy than many adults. I’m proud of the way our staff has embraced the technology push!”