Students at Lincoln Park Public Schools travel the virtual world with Google Apps for Education

At Lincoln Park Public Schools, we now have the ability to bring virtual knowledge into the classroom. Many of our students have never been to a farm or gone on vacation, so when our students take standardized tests they can’t keep up because they don’t have the context for some of the questions. The virtual experience opens up the world for them and allows them to learn more about these things.

Cheryl Irving, Assistant Superintendent, Lincoln Park Public Schools

Challenge

The majority of students at Lincoln Park Public schools lack access to technology at home. Additionally, many struggle with state standardized test questions that don’t factor in students’ with diverse backgrounds — for instance, those that require knowledge of travel. It was clear to the school district that students needed experience with and access to technology to be successful at testing, in their further education and in their careers. Lincoln Park Public Schools’ staff also needed a faster and more efficient way to share information with one another and with students.

Solution

The team at Lincoln Park Public Schools, Ken Jacobs, director of technology, Andrew Sueta, instructional technology integration specialist, and Cheryl Irving, assistant superintendent, introduced Google Apps for Education and provided Chromebooks for students and staff across the district. The school district was able to purchase hundreds of Chromebooks and provide Google Apps for thousands of students and hundreds of teachers due to their low cost. They started teaching students how to use Chromebooks and Google Apps for research and classwork. Using Chromebooks, teachers assign students projects that give them a way to explore different cultures and regions beyond their own.