MACON, Ga. — Bibb County Schools will begin the first eight weeks of school remotely.
To do that, they say they listened to parents and students on improving virtual learning.
"They just really wanted a one-stop shop where everything was in one place, and that's what Canvas is going to allow for our students and our parents," Bibb Schools Director of Technology Rose Powell said.
She says changing the virtual learning software was crucial when they made the decision to start the first eight weeks of school remotely.
"We wanted to be able to have a software where parents would be able to see the assignments and the due dates just like the students can, and so Canvas, our new management system, is an educational software that allows for all of those things to happen -- communication, the assignments, the grading, everything happens right inside of canvas," Powell said.
Canvas has a parent and student portal that can give notifications on assignment due dates. Powell says it's an upgrade from Microsoft Teams.
"Last spring, we were using Microsoft Teams, and we still have Microsoft Teams. It's not a dedicated educational software. It's just a Microsoft software that can be applied to business or classrooms," Powell said.
The district used ESPLOST funds to be able to purchase more technology to move closer to their one device per student or "one-to-one" goal.
"We gave out almost 11,000 laptops to families who didn't have access to laptops last week. That was just for grades 2nd-12th, and we're issuing iPads this Thursday and Friday for grades pre-k-1st grade that don't have access to a device," Powell said.
At the beginning of September, Powell says they will hand out hotspots for families who don't have access to the internet.
They'll also have their school bus WiFi hotspots deployed this week.
Teachers will have 24 hour access to a Canvas support specialist all year round.
The district is offering family training with the new software on Aug. 26-27.
You can find the link to sign up online here.