Friday, February 19, 2016

Silver Linings

Fourth graders are delighted with their new lab!
State money was tied up in political knots, and our supplies did not arrive at the beginning of the school year. We waited as long as we could; then we had to use our own funds to purchase books and other items that we could not do without to educate our students. But for the technology department, this stalemate allowed for a silver lining. State money, once it became available, was now able to be used to purchase computers for students. Who had the greatest need? Our elementary students, whose computer lab, though workable, had been plagued with numerous glitchy problems that made using it somewhat of an "adventure," were the ones who would really benefit from an upgrade. This week, with the help of some teachers and a couple of our P2P student technology team members, the old elementary lab computers were dismantled, and brand new, purchased-with-state-money LG Chromebase
P2P team members set up computers.
computers were put in place. Students sign in to these computers with their school-assigned Google accounts and can work in Google Drive to write, draw, and create, with their work saved "in the cloud." The all-in-one computers have large clear screens and perfect-sized keyboards for elementary hands. Online research is now a simple task, and computer instruction will truly benefit from being carried out on dependable computers that can connect easily. Fourth and fifth graders are learning important skills in digital citizenship as well as being introduced to basic computer coding and practical computer use. We are grateful to God for providing in this way for our technology program. We delight in His silver linings.