Released 30/10/2017 - Joint media release
Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Education Yvette Berry have today announced that all students from years 7 to 11 in ACT public high schools and colleges will receive a Chromebook device in term one next year.
In many ways these are the textbooks of today and the ACT is the first Australian state or territory to provide them universally in public schools.
This initiative will ensure every secondary student in Canberra public schools has the same access to a device to enhance their learning through technology. Irrespective of family circumstances, every student will have an equal opportunity to access technology-based learning when and where they need it.
With a single device as the standard across classes and schools it also means Canberra teachers don’t need to be experts in every platform or spend valuable lesson time trouble shooting multiple devices.
The procurement process for this program is now complete and I can confirm that Datacom Systems AU has successfully won the right to provide an Acer Chromebook to all Year 7 to 11 public school students in 2018.
Chromebook laptops have been selected because these devices will best align with existing ACT public school IT infrastructure. Students are already equipped with access to a specialised Google educational platform where they access a Google classroom and Google apps. Chromebooks integrate seamlessly with these apps and will ensure all students are using a safe, secure and easily managed platform.
In future years Chromebooks will be provided to all new students at the start of every school year, meaning Canberra public secondary students will have up-to-date devices as they move through their schooling.
The ACT Government made a commitment during the 2016 election campaign to bridge the equity gap by allocating all secondary students with a personal electronic device for learning. We are delivering on this commitment ahead of schedule with all students to have devices for the 2019 school year.
Detailed information will soon be provided to parents to help with planning for next year.
Quotes attributable to Yvette Berry, Education Minister
- Statement ends -
Yvette Berry, MLA | Andrew Barr, MLA | Media Releases
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