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How Glen Allen second graders use Chromebooks to build better minds

Posted at 12:27 PM, Jan 03, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-03 12:27:04-05

HENRICO COUNTY, Va.  -  It’s one thing to learn from a book. These Glen Allen Elementary School kids are doing something you might not expect second graders to be able to do.

"They're really, in essence, creating their own non-fiction textbooks," teacher Katy Ofenlach said.  They're doing it by using new Chromebooks.

"Technology is very interesting," Ofenlach said. "Being able to bring these Chromebooks into the classroom, it's really been an exceptional experience for them."

In this case, their book is about weather.

Ofenlach said the kids are very interested to talk about snow, because of course, that can mean a "snow day."

“They create their own pictures with a wide world of resources.  A textbook might have one picture of a snowstorm, but one picture doesn't explain everything," she said.

This is more than teaching about weather.

It's helping them realize they can become authors, and to teach them how to research subjects on their own.

Building their own books... is Building Better Minds.

Building Better Minds with Rob Cardwell airs Wednesdays on CBS 6 News at 6 a.m.