On a recent Thursday morning, fourth grade students in Rachel Kizer’s class at South Whidbey Elementary started their day with a math lesson. But rather than the hurried sound of pencils scratching on paper, the classroom was filled with the tapping of keys.

Thanks to money awarded to the district through a tech levy, Kizer and fellow fourth grade teachers Sue Raley, Kathy Stanley and Pan Muncey are able to allow students to do math quizzes and other assignments using Acer Chromebooks.

Kizer explained that this is especially helpful in individualizing lessons for students who are at different skill levels. Those who need to spend a little extra time on a certain subject are able to do so while those who have already grasped the topic can spend time doing other productive activities without distracting the rest of the class.

Fourth grader Katelynn Simmons demonstrated how to use XtraMath, an arithmetic program which allows students to take math quizzes in a format similar to an educational computer game. As questions popped onto the screen, Simmons rapidly answered each multiplication, subtraction or addition problem within two seconds. She explained that she had previously set the timer to three seconds, but as she became more adept at answering, she was able to speed up the timer to give herself more of a challenge.

XtraMath is much more fun than a paper quiz, Simmons said. And, she is able to practice typing everyday.

“It’s a great opportunity for our class to have Chromebooks,” she said.

A handful of Kizer’s students were working on other activities, such as reading projects. Ryder Mulcahy demonstrated the use of Accelerated Reader, which he used to complete a reading comprehension assignment on the book, “The Lost Hero” by Rick Riordan.

“Technology is improving and I think it is important to learn this for the future,” he said.

Simmons said that, in third grade, she had had the use of computers in a lab and iPads. Teachers are required to book time in the computer lab, allowing each class only a limited time on the computers each day.

In fourth grade, each student has his or her own Chromebook to use in the classroom. The students received their Chromebooks when they returned from winter break in January.

Simone White demonstrated the use of the Chromebooks for yet another topic — vocabulary. Using Dictionary.com, White was able to look up words for her vocabulary packet, checking the definitions against her own inferences.

White said she also enjoys using the Chromebooks for creative writing, which is likely her favorite subject. Using Google Docs makes it easier for her to write and revise documents and share them with classmates and teachers, she said.

Richie Hinojos agreed, displaying a poem he had written in Google Docs after the Seahawks’ Super Bowl loss.

“One of the ways we decided to process our feelings was to write a poem about all the great things the Seahawks did during the season,” Kizer explained.

Hinojos said that, in addition to the creativity and convenience of Google Docs, he enjoys other online features such as Scholastic News, which he called “one of the best parts of school.”

Kathy Stanley’s mixed-age third and fourth grade classroom was also busy working on Chromebooks for an array of projects.

As Emma Callahan researched her biography of Stephen Hawking, Maddox Smith and Jamey Ullman worked on creating simple computer games using code. Smith, who has been creating the games “Worm Escape” and “Penalty Kick,” said that he imagines coding will be very useful in the future, and it is a lot of fun.

“You use your creativity to make your own things,” he said. “You can make something cool, whatever you want.”

Stanley noted that the teachers had just attended a course on Google Classroom, which she said she is enthused to begin using. Google Classroom is a platform which allows teachers to place and organize assignments online for student use. Students can turn in digital assignments and ask questions remotely through the classroom if they are absent. Teachers can also use it to track grades in a fashion similar to a virtual grade book.

The Acer Chromebooks have 16 gigabyte drives and 11.6-inch screens. These computers retail at about $200 from Google.