Mrs. Sayre LRC

It's an exciting time to be a student at Goodrich Elementary School! Our world is changing and students are being empowered to connect in a digitally enriched and diverse world. Technology is no longer a "special" that students go to once a week. Instead, it is a tool that enhances learning through collaboration, communication and cooperation. Technology encourages students to become curious learners by connecting them with others to positively affect academic achievement. This switch from teaching to learning gives the students the tools they need to be college and career ready.

To facilitate this change in how we use technology our school has undergone some physical changes. Over the summer our maintenance crews were hard at work dismantling the computer lab. While the computer lab has served us well for many years it is time for our use of technology to move in a new direction. Also over the summer the district purchased carts of Chromebooks for student use. Chromebooks are Internet enabled devices that look a lot like a laptop. The main difference between the two is that the Chromebooks do not allow for programs to be downloaded onto them. What this means for students is a move to using programs that are all online. The other change is that students will have access to the Chromebooks in their classrooms and will be able to use the tool to enhance learning throughout the day. This change allows learning to happen at the point of need in place of a scheduled time, one day a week.

If you have a student in the upper grades I'm sure you've heard all about the learning that takes place with the use of these tools, but it is a brand new opportunity for our students in kindergarten through third grade, as well as many of their teachers!  We are all working together to find ways to best support our youngest students as they are learning a new tool.

Their first opportunity to use the devices came this week when students logged on to take a STAR reading and/or math test. Students in grades three through six used the Chromebooks in their classrooms to accomplish this. Our younger students used the Chromebooks in the library for their first experience. Once testing is complete, the Chromebooks will primarily be used in the classrooms. Ask your child about their experiences with the Chromebooks as we embed them deeper and deeper into the curriculum!