Richland Two prides itself on its use of technology and thanks to a partnership with Google, even more students will be able to take advantage.

The district announced Wednesday that it was one of three school districts chosen to partner with Google for a Chromebook program that will provide the district 19,000 of the small laptops by 2014.

According to a release from the school:

The Chromebooks, which will be purchased as part of the district’s annual computer replacement cycle, are more economical than a traditional desktop computer and are ready out of the box with a no-touch setup. They are virtually “instant on,” with an 8-second start up, and are constantly refreshed and self-updating since they are cloud-based.

District officials said the technology will make teaching and learning more collaborative and efficient.

“For example, in English classes, students can use word processing and publishing programs to write stories and essays, Skype with authors of books they are reading or use web resources to investigate the real setting for the book they are reading,” Chief Information Officer Debra Hamm said. 

The district began a pilot program using iPads at Muller Road Middle School earlier this year and its 1-Two-1 computing initiative is now more than 10 years old.