The first group of freshmen at Veterans Memorial High School (VMHS) started receiving their Chromebook computers today. This is part of Mission CISD’s (Consolidated Independent School District) 1-to-1 initiative.
The students at VMHS are receiving the Chromebooks in small groups to allow for better control and to help students in setting up the computers with their Google accounts for the first time. Campus officials hope to have the 500+ Chromebooks in student hands by March 7. Mission High School (MHS) is set to begin distributing Chromebooks next week.
Delays in the needed infrastructure to support the 1-to-1 initiative pushed back the distribution of the computers. Students at Mission Collegiate High School (MCHS) were the first to receive the computers in January. Sixth grade students at K. White Jr. High School are also receiving Chromebooks as a part of a special STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) curriculum program being implemented there. The goal of the 1-to-1 initiative will be to provide Chromebooks to each incoming high school freshmen class. High school students will continue to receive their Chromebooks each school year until they graduate from high school or leave the school district.
1-to-1 learning involves the use of a computer for each student and teacher to help engage the digital generation, while fostering an individual learning experience that is differentiated for the student. 1-to-1 learning initiatives can also enhance collaboration continuous learning, creativity, and allow for faster feedback.
District officials indicated the Chromebooks allow for a centralized deployment and configuration. They also come with free web-based email, calendar, documents, and cloud storage. The Chromebooks also allow for CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) compliance no matter where the student accesses the Internet. Regardless of where the students access the Internet, the computers will point back to the the district’s network and filtering first.
Pictured are some of the students in the first group at Veterans Memorial High School to receive Chromebook computers as they worked on the initial sign-in and set-up processes.