Getting Started with Chromebooks, Nicole Guevara, Librarian, Washington High School

The George Washington High School library received 19 Chromebooks and they were ready to use ten minutes later. After they were connected to the wireless network, they were numbered, and ready to go. It was really that easy! I quickly decided how I would start using them in the library and began the process.

Washington recently made a huge investment in technology including 90 Chromebooks available for classroom use after teachers complete an agreement form. Teachers have seized the opportunity to bring their lessons to life by utilizing Schoology, podcasts, video creation, and various online programs. More and more students are now being asked to review materials online on their own time coming into the classroom already prepared. Because of the REVITAL grant, the GW library is able to better support this initiative.

The GW library houses 19 Chromebooks that students are able to checkout before and after school as well as during their lunch periods. This guarantees that everyone has equal access to the resources they need to learn while equalizing the classroom. Everyone gets to work at their own pace. Student feedback shows that they enjoy being treated like college students in this way especially since post-secondary education is our mission and goal for every student.

In addition to supporting classroom efforts, the GW Library Council has also begun to use the library Chromebooks. This team of students creates and implements library programming from book displays to evening events for the school community. Students recently used Google Drawing to create flyers for our upcoming Holiday Film Festival. I first created a folder consisting of 5 Google Drawing files. I created an example with the all the information they needed to know to be able to complete their own. The other four Google Drawings were each titled with a specific student’s name. I shared it with all of them so that when they finished I would already own them and easily be able to make copies to display. So far Chromebooks for educational use has been a smooth and exciting process.