The Vicksburg Warren School District Board of Trustees voted Friday to approve a bid to purchase 2,650 Chromebooks, a laptop produced by Google.

High school students will work on the computers in class and be allowed to take them home as well. Students in the lower grades will have access to Chromebooks in their classrooms.

VWSD Superintendent Chad Shealy said this is part of a push to increase the technology within the district. The district has asserted that the expansion of technology at VWSD schools is an important part of achieving the goal of equipping every student with the literacy skills to succeed in challenging courses, meet academic standards and graduate from high school prepared for college or ready for a challenging career.

“The board understands the importance of providing this technology to our students. Technology must be embraced as we work to best prepare our young people for the future,” Shealy said. “Our teachers and students deserve access to the technology tools that will support their success.”

We at The Vicksburg Post are inclined to agree. We are using technology each and every day to put out our newspaper, and we have seen first-hand just how quickly technology is changing.

It is important and worthwhile to teach our students not only the latest in technological developments but also a love for technology. They’ll likely be working with it for the rest of their lives.

VWSD Director of Educational Technology Wade Grant said after testing multiple devices in the classroom, evaluating how teachers use technology, consulting with other schools who have similar programs, and keeping fiscal responsibility at the forefront, moving forward with the Google Classroom platform was an obvious choice.

We applaud Grant on his responsible and well-thought out approach leading up the purchase of these laptops.

The research is something that could have been overlooked, just opting for a personal favorite, but the Vicksburg Warren School District has proven to be a good steward in regards to planning out purchases. The project’s goal is to enhance student learning by creating a personalized, student-centered learning environment.

The Chromebooks will provide access to Google Classroom, an app in Google Education that helps teachers create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently and communicate easilywith their students.

Classroom textbooks will also be offered on the Chromebooks, providing easy access to learning material at any time, anywhere.