Government and the province’s largest school board briefed media on the latest involving online learning today.

They say there are enough devices to ensure all students from Grades 7 to 12 have online access, including through the use of Mi-Fi, a wireless router provided by the school district that acts as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.

Education Minister Tom Osborne and English School District CEO Tony Stack admitted the delay in receiving more Chromebooks is frustrating, blaming a massive global demand. But they reminded parents that any device with online capability can be used for at-home learning.

Stack says online learning has begun for the Avalon. As for Central, Western, and Labrador, High School and Intermediate will begin online instruction no later than Wednesday. Primary and Elementary begin no later than Thursday.

There have been minimum timelines established such as 1 hour a day of online learning with a teacher for K-3 (which increases with grades) along with suggestions and activities for the remainder of the day. This is taking into consideration amount of screen time, what's healthy.

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30,000 Chromebooks were ordered in July, however with global demand, so far only around 1,500 have arrived.

10,000 are expected by the end of February, a couple hundred should arrive in early March, 4,000 in mid-March, and 7,000 by end of March.

Stack says eventually every student in Grades 7 to 12 will get a brand new Lenovo Chromebook.

Resources will be shifted around the province as orders come in and he is asking for everyone’s cooperation in this.