By Tammy Schneider, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Kincardine Independent
The Bluewater District School Board has announced that it is phasing in the distribution of laptops for each student, in Grades 9 to 12.
Beginning Feb. 14, students currently in Grades 9–11 will receive laptops. Students entering Grade 9 in the fall will also be equipped with the computers when they enter high school.
The board acknowledges the laptops are necessary to further support online learning, and there is a greater need for technology among families. The Ministry of Education announced in 2019 that secondary students must earn two online credits to graduate and the laptops are necessary to meet those requirements.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
“Quality laptops, such as the ones being provided in Bluewater, will greatly enhance our students’ ability to work and learn in a digital world,” says Keith Lefebvre, superintendent of education with responsibilities for Student Success. “Many post-secondary education and career opportunities require students to possess the technology skills that are gained through managing a personal device. Working through learning platforms, such as Brightspace, and tools like Office 365, which include Outlook, Teams, and OneNote, will give our secondary students a cutting-edge advantage in the future.”
Bluewater District School Board utilizes the Microsoft toolkit of resources, which includes the Office 365 suite of products. Providing a laptop to each secondary student will better enable teachers to maximize these tools to support learning throughout the school day.
The board has purchased approximately 4,000 devices this year, according to Lefebvre, for elementary and secondary students across the district. The approximate cost for the computers is $2.1 million.
“The board has had this project in planning for a number of years,” said Lefebvre. “The financial position of the board has improved over the past seven years. The trustees have emphasized enhanced access to technology throughout the 2021-22 budget process. This foresight as it relates to student technology needs has grown the board’s technology reserve to a level to support this project.”
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free).
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free).
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation