Students in the Greater Victoria School District are getting an upgrade with a $1.25-million investment that will put more than 2,300 new laptops and iPads in schools this fall.
That means every elementary and middle school in the district will have at least a four to one ratio of students to a tech device, will high schools will have at least on iPad or Chromebook for every six students.
The devices will be delivered in late August in time for the 2017-2018 school year.
The district says it made the investment to encourage students to learn how to code, animate or explore problems online.
“Investing in technology opens doors for student learning that frankly didn’t exist before,” district superintendent Piet Langstraat said in a release. “Collaboration and hands-on learning are pillars of the new curriculum. Mobile technology facilitates opportunities for students to work in groups and to explore concepts outside of traditional classroom environments.”
Students in Greater Victoria are also uniquely positioned to join the city’s burgeoning tech industry after graduating, the district said, and this new investment can help “position students for future careers in the Capital Region and abroad.”
The district also said $250,000 of the investment will go to upgrading wireless infrastructure in schools across the district.
