Wifi, computers help Manatee County students prepare for virtual learning
PALMETTO, Fla. - Manatee County School’s virtual learning program is something that students and staff have already had access to, but on March 30, they'll be using it full time.
When students return to school in Manatee County, they'll be learning from home. "I can do all kinds of things here in the comment section," Dr.Gibson demonstrated.
Schoology is a program that's already being utilized district-wide. Now it'll be put in place until schools resume in person.
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By starting on March 30, the Manatee County School District said students will be able to finish out the academic year on time. "We cannot help or change things beyond our control, but we can control the education process," said Superintendent Cynthia Saunders.
Close to 50,000 students across the district will have access to free wifi from Spectrum and wifi hot spots will be given to the rest of the students. The district also has spare computers on hand for those who don’t have access to one.
"This will be the device that will be a priority for a student that doesn’t have a device at home,” said Scott Hansen. “We are positioned to address those students we have approximately 13,000 Chrome books and 15,000 Windows laptops.”
Students are navigating a new time, while still learning from a teacher.
"It's not just about giving assignments because giving assignments is not teaching, this platform does allow teachers to instruct so that even if a parent is not able to assist their child this application will be able to with a teacher answer all the questions and help them," Saunders said.
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