AS of term one next year, all students from years 7 to 11 in ACT public high schools and colleges will receive a Chromebook device, according to Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Minister for Education Yvette Berry. 

“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.” 

Ms Berry says Chromebook laptops were selected because they 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,” she says.

“Chromebooks integrate seamlessly with these apps and will ensure all students are using a safe, secure and easily managed platform.”