Gate City Elementary students get new laptops
Students at Gate City Elementary in Pocatello have some new learning tools in their classrooms.
The school received a classroom set of Google Chromebooks, thanks to some community donations.
In total, the Chromebooks cost around $7,300. About $2,400 of that came from the Pocatello Rotary Club. That same amount was matched by Rotary International.
Gate City Elementary’s parent-teacher organization also raised another $2,500, including two Chromebooks donated by Valley Foot and Ankle and another from Lambson Wildlife Art.
Teachers said Chromebooks are useful in the classroom because it makes learning easier for everyone.
“It’s so much more efficient to type a paper, or do some math problems online,” said Christin Brown, a 5th grade teacher at Gate City. “I get data analysis back immediately, they get immediate feedback on whatever they’re working on as well, so they have fun with that.”
Both teachers and students are loving the Chromebooks so far. Teachers said it’s also good preparation for kids for future education.
“A big focus is college readiness,” Brown said. “I know we’re only at 5th grade right now, but exposing them to technology now gets them thinking about how to use it and it only prepares them for the next stage.”
“In middle school, high school and college, you are going to be working on the computer a lot more than you will in grade school but it’s nice to have the practice before you go off to middle school,” said Dallas Call, a 5th grade student of Brown’s.
“When we didn’t have the computers, we really just focused on one person individually,” said Cole Songster. “But since we all have the computers, we all have to answer the problem and Ms. Brown looks over all of them.”
“My favorite part of the Chromebooks is when we can do Kahoot because it’s competitive and it helps you with mental math,” said Alaina May.
Brown’s students told me it’s already made a difference in learning for them. The students are excited to continue using them.
The Chromebooks do rotate to different classrooms. The teachers have to sign up to use them.
