Students in the Greater Victoria school district will have better access to technology in September thanks to a $1.25-million investment in Chromebooks and iPads, officials say.
More than 2,300 mobile devices are being purchased. There will be one device for every four elementary- and middle-school students. In high schools, where more students bring their own computers and devices to school, there will be one device for every six students.
The current ratio for all grade levels is one device for every 6.2 students.
A total of 1,770 Chromebooks and 585 iPads costing close to $1 million will be spread throughout the district, while $250,000 will be spent on upgrading wireless infrastructure.
It follows $1.9 million committed last year to put display screens and Internet-connected speakers in every district classroom.
Having mobile devices available to students makes for a “fluid” system where technology instruction isn’t tied to a classroom, said district superintendent Piet Langstraat.
“Now on a typical day, if I were in a classroom I might go out in the morning with the iPads and take pictures or videos of things around our school, come back into the school and use that as the basis for some writing that we might do as a class,” he said.
“Later in the day we might be doing a component on orcas. I would say to the kids: ‘Let’s fire up our tablets and do some research.’ ”
With about 880 high-tech firms in the capital region, investing in technology is the right thing to do, Langstraat said.
“The whole world’s moving to mobile technology,” he said, “and it just makes sense that we move that way in our school system, as well.”
Mobile devices also create opportunities for students to get together and work in groups, Langstraat said.
He said there has been some concern from Macaulay Elementary parents that the school computer lab will be lost due to space issues, but the growing number of devices ensures that students will still have access to technology.
The purchase is being praised by Audrey Smith, president of the Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils. She said parent advisory councils have been raising funds for technology in schools for several years, and the new devices address the fact that some schools have been more successful than others.
Equal access for students at all schools is a key part of having effective technology integration, said Dave Shortreed, vice-principal of district learning.
The funds for the mobile devices comes from a provincial Student Learning Grant. Money for the wireless infrastructure is from district operating funds.
