In an age where the language of communication is digital, it is only expected that education would now be without borders.
While the entire globe is yet to collectively reach that point, there are many parts of the world where developments have been fast paced. And one of such places is America.
In a bid to promote the popularity of wireless gadgets and create new and greater possibilities for students in their education, Google decided to launch their Rolling Study Hall Program. This program helped thousands of students in North Carolina to receive Chromebooks from the company and also access Wi-Fi in their school buses. The idea is to fill the education gap which has been prevalent in many communities for a long time.
While this occurred only two years ago, the impact is already visible and it’s only natural for the company to extend their reach.
The Homework Gap
The "homework gap" as described by researchers has been a prevalent problem in today's society where access to internet facilities has been limited due to inadequate provisions by the authorities. Students find it difficult to complete their homework online due to flaky internet connection at home which is often not even extant. Of course, this further compounds the inequality problem that is already in existence in many low-income circles.
While certain students in some US schools are provided with digital gadgets like iPads, many households in the country with schooling children do not even have broadband. It is not surprising that most of these homes earn low incomes as reports suggest that such homes are 4-times less likely to have broadband compared to average or high income homes.
Having initiated the Rolling Study Hall Program in 2016 in Caldwell County to bridge the homework gap, Google is now planning for expansion. It is now believed that 11 more states will be reached by Google after receiving rave reviews indicating the massive success in North Carolina.
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It should be noted that before 2016, Google has been operating many data centres in North Carolina. Their recent program could be seen as a way of paying back to the community following the long relationship they have.
Last year, Rollin Study Hall was expanded beyond North Carolina and saw close to two thousand students from the rural regions in Berkeley County, South Carolina also benefit from free Wi-Fi buses and Chromebooks. CBS, Google also reports that hundreds of jobs have been created in the county through Google data centres in the area since 2007.
According to Google, the Wi-Fi bus connection initiative will enable students do their homework while sitting to travel long distances. It is obvious the program has been targeted at students in rural areas who besides the low income background have to spend longer times on their way back from school.
Since the program started, both counties in North Carolina and South Carolina have recorded significant improvement in digital literacy and reading proficiency. As a result, Google has expanded the program to other rural school districts in the state.
Written by Kaya Johnson.
My name is Kaya Johnson. I'm a 39-year-old sales accountant from Yorkshire. Though I'm not a professional writer it's my hobby to put together articles from time to time. Hope you will enjoy my publications!