Our students were so excited to see Chromebooks in the library. I started rolling them out with the fourth graders. They used our Library email address so that we were all sharing the same drive. The students practiced typing a simple document about themselves and shared it with everyone. Next, we moved to using Chrome to search the internet for images that they could add to a file with the class. This was unexpectedly easy and they loved it.
For the next few classes, the third and fourth grade students used the Chromebooks to access ebooks and databases through Mackin Via. The students used Fact Cite Biograhpy for Beginnners to read about an author. They collected information in a graphic organizer and then used Slides to make a presentation that we shared with their teacher via Google Drive.
Teaching Google Drive is so much easier with the Chromebooks. The devices are extremely user friendly and the simplistic, small and lightweight design are great for younger students.
My first and second grade students use the Chromebooks as a Guest user which is a lot easier than the traditional log in of our laptops or desktops. I have been working with these grade levels on some basic technology skills since the beginning of the year. They seem to have picked up the most skills in these past few weeks of using the Chromebooks. They have a better sense of how to open the internet and perform a search or type an address in the address bar. There are fewer buttons on the keyboard of a Chromebook and I think this even helps with their keyboarding skills.
Overall, the Chromebooks have been a welcome and wonderful addition to our library. I let the teachers know the types of digital artifacts the students can now share with them during our collaborative units and they are more willing to work together than ever.
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