31 Mar 2020
With our investment in digital education, ACT public schools are well placed to ensure education can continue as we all work together to slow the spread of COVID-19.
It is important that students are able to access learning resources and connect with their teachers during this time, so the ACT Government has announced all primary students in years 4, 5 and 6 will now be given access to a Chromebook device at home, should they need one.
ACT public schools already have an existing pool of Chromebooks that are used for digital learning activities in the classroom. Now, these devices will be redistributed to students that require access to digital technology during the home learning period.
The ACT Government has also invested in a number of new Chromebooks to be loaned as a part of this initiative, to ensure that each student has equal access to the technology needed to begin accessing online and home-based learning. Schools will work with families to distribute devices this week.
Digital technology has been used as a tool in classrooms throughout the ACT for years to enhance student’s learning and has helped them to develop important digital literacy and technological skills.
The use of Chromebooks for online education delivery will be a natural extension of their learning as they transition from a physical classroom, to a digital one.
The ACT Government has made a strong investment in equity by providing Chromebooks to all students in year 7 and above across ACT public schools, following a 2016 election commitment to increase access to digital technology for all secondary students.
The ACT Government has made nation-leading investments in technology-enabled learning - including through the Google platform and Google classrooms, which will ensure that students in ACT public schools can continue to access high quality education