NEWS PHOTO SAMANTHA JOHNSON
Tim Bloomfield, principal of Coulee Collegiate, is enthusiastic about the new Chrome Academy being offered that is open to all students eligible to take high school courses.
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
Chrome Academy at Coulee Collegiate is a self-paced online course open to any student taking or looking to take high school courses, and is currently open for registration. Based on the Google platform, areas covered are two word processing units, spreadsheets, digital presentation and keyboarding skills.
Tim Bloomfield, principal of Coulee Collegiate, said there are a few students enrolled but not many right now.
“If you are in Grade 9 right now, you wouldn’t be eligible. Usually by June, which is only a few weeks away, we would start signing up Grade 9s who want to work on a high school course over the summer, and Chrome Academy could be one of them.”
It is a five-credit course and the amount of time it takes depends on the student, each one can go through it as fast or as slow as they want.
“This is a course where many students are comfortable with the content,” explained Bloomfield. “The timeline isn’t rigidly set by us.”
There are no exams, but there are projects to complete for each unit. Once the student has completed one unit, they move onto the next until all five are completed. Once the final project is complete, they are done the course and Coulee Collegiate will submit five one-credit information processing courses to the student’s transcript.
Additionally, the student receives a certificate at the end of the course for a free Chromebook. Coulee Collegiate has partnered with Staples for distribution of the devices. To collect, the student needs to bring the certificate, identification and a parent if under 18 years old.
“Keep going, use this to help yourself learn more,” said Bloomfield. “We are going to use this course for students who need a quick five credits to meet grad requirements,” stated Bloomfield.
Additionally, it will be ideal for students who are coming into high school and need to refresh some Google skills while also giving them a device to assist them when they enter high school.
“We also teach lots of adults here. Adults aren’t free once they hit age 20 but they can register as a college course and learn their computer skills and get this Chromebook to help with their future college career.”
For those who have been out of school for a decade or more, it can help them relearn some technology skills. Many courses at Coulee Collegiate use Google classroom, which can be daunting for adult learners. Now they will be able to take Chrome Academy ahead of time to get familiar with the Google platform.
To register email couleecollegiatesecretary@prrd8.ca or call 403-526-4156.
