Wi-Fi on wheels: Google helps students get online, on the go

ST. STEPHEN, S.C. (AP) - For some rural American school children, tech giant Google is stepping in to help ensure they can get online to do their homework during their often lengthy commutes to and from school.

On Monday, Google unveiled one of more than two dozen school buses it's outfitted with Wi-Fi for students in South Carolina's Berkeley County. Some students in the sprawling district spend two hours a day riding to and from school.

A grant to the school district also provides for 1,700 Chromebooks, the Google laptops on which public school children do class assignments and homework as school books are largely replaced by online worksheets and articles.

Google hopes to eventually expand the program around the country.

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Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP . Read more of her work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/meg-kinnard/