OPS students see success in first semester with Chromebooks

December 19, 2019 | 3:15 am

Updated December 19, 2019 | 7:15 am

Owensboro Public School students have been working with Chromebooks for a full semester. After making the switch from MacBook, the response has been positive from students and educators.

Sydney McFadden, District Digital Learning Coach for OPS, said she has seen a lot of benefits with the students using this technology.

“The Chromebooks have a long battery life that allows for fewer interruptions throughout the day,” she said. “With the Chromebooks, all student work is automatically backed up to the cloud so that no information is ever lost. Devices offer touch input and handwriting input, making them a more versatile device than the MacBook Airs.”

The Chromebook has a 360-degree hinge allowing students to use it as a tablet instead of a laptop. Students can use a stylus with the Lenovo Chromebook or it offers a touch screen.

She said the only con she has noticed is some students have been disappointed they are not able to play some of their favorite non-educational games.

“The devices are to be used for education purposes only, so this ensures they are used for such,” she said.

Students in grades 5 through 12 use the devices.

The biggest change from the two devices was switching to a different operating system and adapting to its supported apps.

Because the Chromebooks have an operating system based on the Chrome browser, it was familiar to the students and staff which made transitioning easier.

Many of today’s instructional applications are now internet-based so having access to those resources has been proven to be beneficial.

In 1995, Kentucky became the first state in the nation to have every school connected to the internet.

“Our district’s network is uniquely positioned to take advantage of cloud-based operating systems and applications,” McFadden said.

When OPS made the switch, at the beginning of the school year, they saved approximately $1.2 million since the Chromebooks were cheaper than the Apple laptops.

December 19, 2019 | 3:15 am

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