If you're a TCS math or English teacher in grades 8-12, you're likely coming back to school this year with a cart full of Chromebooks to use with your students. Check out the tips below for a bit of guidance on getting started and managing them for student use. Please note that this is not a post about transforming your instruction but rather a bit of practical advice for getting acquainted with your new devices. Future posts will discuss possibilities for classroom use and share specific ways TCS students and teachers are harnessing the power of Chromebooks and web tools to make meaningful shifts in learning.
First up, what's a Chromebook? It's not exactly a laptop. It's clearly not a tablet or desktop. Check out the video below for a brief overview.
So here's the gist: Google Chrome is a web browser, not unlike Firefox or Internet Explorer. A Chromebook uses the Chrome operating system. This means that everything you do on the Chromebook is web-based. You start out with a basic suite of tools like Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, and other resources, and you can easily add other apps from the Chrome Web Store based on your needs and the needs of your students. Because everything is web-based, the work your students do is not tied to the device they work on or to the school network. It's stored in the cloud, so the kids can access their stuff from a variety of devices - at home, at school, anywhere - by simply logging in to their Google accounts.
Number and assign your Chromebooks. When you begin distributing the Chromebooks among your students, you'll want to make sure that there's some level of accountability in the event of any issues or damage. Some prefer to attach small labels; however, I find that fidgety fingers tend to make short work of these. Grab a sharpie, and write small numbers (1-30) in an inconspicuous spot on the outside of the Chromebooks. I recommend not writing the numbers on the inside of the devices because you don't want to have to open every Chromebook up each time you need to place it back in your cart. Speaking of the cart, once your machines are numbered, place corresponding numbers in each space in your cart to provide a designated space for each Chromebook's storage and charging. The final step, once you've got your rosters for the year, is to assign each student to a Chromebook. This will be the device they will use for each work session, so if you ever have questions or concerns about one, you know who to talk to. Keep your Chromebook assignment lists stored or posted somewhere for easy access throughout the year, and make sure that you distribute the devices to the students yourself at least the first several times they are in use to ensure that students get in the habit of getting the same assigned machine.
Secure your cart key. This is a very small piece of advice based on personal experience. If your cart has a keyed lock (and odds are it does), make sure that you pull the key out of the lock if you're moving the cart from room to room. Narrow doorways can be deadly for keys left in the cart locks; I've got two key fragments in my classroom to prove it. On a related note, when your cart is locked, keep the key somewhere secure. Though it may be handy to hang the key on the cart via a lanyard, this practice pretty much eliminates the effectiveness of locking the thing up.
Get your students logged in. Logging in to a Chromebook requires a Google account. If necessary, both teachers and students can log in using an existing Gmail address and password. However, current TCS students also have Google accounts through our system's Google Apps for Education. All they need to do is log in here, reset their passwords, and they're ready to start using Google Apps and the web. I suggest assigning one time (for example, all English 9 classes) for taking care of the initial login process to make this first step more efficient and to avoid overlap. Folks at the CO will be distributing student login info soon.
Assign student helpers. Pick a student or two per class to assist you in collecting and plugging back in the Chromebooks once they're returned. Having a few extra hands to facilitate the shuffle, along with beginning the process a minute or two before class ends, will help to reduce moments of frenzy between classes and ensure that the next class starts with a clean slate.
So that's it for now. One of the best things about Chromebooks is that setup is a breeze. What tips or questions do you have about getting Chromebooks student-ready? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Upcoming posts will recommend great apps to use, share instructional practices, and help to answer a very big question: what happens to these things when the network goes down? Stay tuned!
Laren Hammonds is an 8th grade English teacher at Rock Quarry Middle School. She's @_clayr_ on Twitter and blogs about her classroom experiences at Game to Learn.
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