eLearning
St Gregory's recognises the benefits of integrating learning technologies in the classroom to enhance student outcomes, facilitate the investigation process and strengthen student engagement. With a combination of designated classroom computers, a school computer lab and iPads across the school, St Gregory's is trialling the use of Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education (GAFE) in Term 3, 2015. A selection of Year 6 students will be provided with their own device - a Google Chromebook - to enhance their learning experience. It is expected that this process will help inform and prepare our teachers for the full implementation of Chromebooks and GAFE across all of Year 6 in 2016, with our sights set on implementation across Year 5 in the near future.
Some of the advantages of Chromebooks are:
Ease of Use
- Boots up in 9 seconds
- Portable
- Is ready 'out-of-the-box'
- Requires no additional software
Survivability
- There are no moving parts (i.e. CD drives and hard drives) reducing the likelihood of data loss and damage if the device is knocked around or dropped
Future-proofing
- Since the main purpose of the device is to access the web, the performance requirements are well and truly met for your child's needs in learning
Secure for one user or many
- Since all data is 'in the cloud' and behind a Google account, multiple users can share a chromebook without any issues
- The Chromium OS is highly secure with no need for additional security software
Can be 'managed' within our Google Apps for Education environment
- Accounts can be managed by teachers
- Students can colaborate safely online together in real-time
- Documents and projects can be easily shared with teachers and parents
- e-books and subject specific apps
For more information about Chromebooks and GAFE, please visit the following websites:
http://www.google.com.au/intl/en_au/chrome/devices/
https://www.google.com/edu/products/productivity-tools/
For any further questions about Chromebooks, GAFE or the trial program, please contact Garreth Wigg (school ICT Coordinator).