Wellington County students without reliable internet access at home have a new way to access their school work and do research.
The library branches in Drayton, Palmerston and Mount Forest are now equipped with Chromebook laptops that students can use in the library, or borrow for up to seven days.
Through the library wireless network, students can access their homework and assignments on UGCloud, and do research through UG2GO and the internet.
In a partnership with Wellington County Library Services, the Upper Grand District School has placed a set of five Chromebooks in each of the three libraries. They are for the exclusive use of Upper Grand students of all ages.
The libraries chosen for the project have evening hours until 8pm three nights a week, and Saturday hours from 10am to 3pm.
"In recent years residents in Wellington County have had more opportunities to access residential broadband networks, but we know it is not available in all areas, nor is it affordable for all families, " says Brent McDonald, superintendent of education responsible for Information Technology. "We re starting with three libraries as a pilot project. If our students make good use of the resources and our library partners agree, we'll consider expanding the initiative to other libraries serving rural areas."