Google’s Chromebooks are a great educational tool because for the most part, Chromebooks are relatively inexpensive and are usually more than enough to get the job done. However the company will be expanding their education initiatives by expanding the WiFi availability on school buses for rural communities.
This is part of Google’s Rolling Study Halls program which aims to help more rural communities stay connected, especially in parts of the US in which internet connectivity might not be as readily available. The pilot program took place in North Carolina and South Carolina and is expected to roll out to more counties.
According to Google, “While teachers increasingly assign schoolwork that requires access to the internet, millions of students lack connectivity at home. This ‘Homework Gap’ disproportionately impacts low-income students, especially in more remote or rural areas, where they face additional burdens like long bus commutes.”
It also seems that in addition to schools, Google might also consider using them to bring internet to other areas that have limited connectivity. This is according to a profile that CBS News posted back in 2017. This move doesn’t really come as a surprise given that Google has expressed interest in the past about bringing internet to all parts of the world.