Laptops

Nevada Taps Private Partner for 1:1 Initiative

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 01/14/16

The Nevada Department of Education has selected a partner to provide Chromebooks, wireless infrastructure and other tools for middle schools participating in its Nevada Ready 21 (NR21) program.

"Approved by the Nevada Commission on Educational Technology in 2014, NR21 is a state-funded, 1:1 digital learning program," according to a news release. "NR21 will provide Nevada students an equitable, technology-rich education while supporting educators to create an engaging and personalized learning experience. The initial phase of NR21 targets middle schools, while future phases will target high schools."

As the result of a June appropriation for more than $20 million by the state's legislature to fund NR21, Nevada ED will begin providing teachers with Chromebooks from CTL in the spring of this year. Teachers will then have the opportunity to attend professional development training for the NR21 changes and students will begin receiving Chromebooks in fall of 2016.

Students will receive the CTL NL6B Chromebook for Education. The ruggedized Chromebook features reinforced ports and hinges, a non-slip texture, a fanless design, anti-peel keys, a camera that rotates 180 degrees and an optional microscope lens.

To support use of the Chromebooks in the classroom, CTL  is partnering with Cisco to provide wireless networking hardware and with DynTek and Vision Technologies for network installation, maintenance and support.

In addition to Chromebooks and wireless infrastructure, CTL will provide access to software and services including:

• NCLab courses;
• WeVideo collaborative video editing;
• PocketLab STEM education tools;
• LabCamera, a camera app for use in STEM classes;
• Noteflight online music writing app;
• Securly, a Web filtering and policy management tool;
• Google Chrome Device Management;
• Google Classroom; and
• Google Apps for Education.

"We're really excited about the program we've put together with CTL and can't wait to see what it enables Nevada's students to create," said Andy Jorgensen, Program Director for Nevada Ready 21, in a prepared statement. "We appreciate CTL's flexibility in working with us to design a great digital learning initiative."