The difficult lesson…Vivian Kraus, Franklin Fine Arts Academy

The difficult lesson…

I have been writing grants for laptops in the library for years and this one I actually got, I was so happy and am still super pumped to have access to the Chromebooks and iPads in the library.   I have been extremely careful about not allowing teachers and students to take the Chromebooks out of the library and have explained to students how important it is to take care of these technology tools.

Sadly, I made the big mistake of allowing my student teacher to use the Chromebooks for her lesson while I was out sick, seems logical right?  Wrong...  I underestimated the students and upon return the next day, one of the laptops was completely dead and another had cracked power connection.  I am so disappointed in my students, they really dropped the ball on this one.

This is what the screen showed.  Following the above suggestion, my tech coordinator created a recovery from the Chromebook store called the Chromebook Recovery Utility.  The Chromebook Recovery Utility includes detailed steps, you’ll have to download the app and use a 4GB flash drive.  I was excited to have this work, but to no avail.  

Now, I have contacted IT and I am waiting to see what happens with the warranty.  I will let you all know how it turns out.  As for the cracked power connection, IT will not fix this.  This is a physical problem so the warranty does not include this tragic issue.  I have used scotch tape to prevent the crack from expanding, the connection seems to be charging.  I will keep my fingers crossed for both Chromebooks to be functioning again in the future.  

Lessons that I learned.

1. Chromebooks are only to be used when I am in the library.
2. Chromebooks will only be plugged in and out of the charging cart by me.
3. Using a  Chromebook is a privilege and the rights can be taken away with the first sign of misuse.  I created a oral pledge that students will recite before each use.

“I promise to handle with care, use safe bodies and be respectful and present when I am using this Chromebook.”  

I decided to include some of my students to get ideas about how to build more responsibility and accountability. I think it is fascinating what they came up with.  

Ideas from 5th graders to help students understand the care of Chromebooks:

1. Fine students for misuse.
2. Automatic strike and call home for misuse
3. Creating a rhyme, jingle to help students remember to take care when handling the Chromebooks.

Ideas from 7th graders to help students understand the care of Chromebooks:

1. Call parents and inform them of the misuse.
2. Create a reminder poster or rap.
3. Publically humiliate students who misuse Chromebooks. :)
4. Fail Library Class
5. No recess for misuse, may have to work in library

Logging In vs. Browsing as Guest, Connie Amon, Galileo Scholastic Academy

When I first started using the Chromebooks, I required (well, more like demanded!) that students browse as guest. Taking the advice of some of my REVITAL colleagues, who already had Chromebooks, and given the fact that the Chromebooks were going to be used by many students throughout the day, I decided that this was the right way to begin.

“Browse as Guest” is fairly small link embedded in the Chromebook login screen. The tendency of students is to log in when they see the login screen, but, with repeated directives, my students learned to browse (most of them). Now I’ve relaxed the directions, depending on the grade level and the project.

Beyond using the common GAFEs, and some of the add-ons, (which we were already doing on computers and laptops), I’ve been attempting to climb a few inches up the Chromebook learning curve. There are a few advantages of logging in, it seems. Students can save bookmarks. Students can add free apps. Students can use the camera.

Our fifth grade students are beginning a research project on exploration. Working with a partner, they are taking notes in a shared Google document. Each student is locating and reading sources independently and adding notes to the document. By logging in, students can bookmark pages and sites they are using for easy access. They also have access to their Drive and other GAFEs without going through their CPS mail accounts. By logging in, students were able to add Glogster and sign up for an educational account (Glogster is described as a “freemium” app). Their final project will be a glog. And the camera? The camera will be used to capture an interview with their explorer.

Video Editing and Production with Chromebooks, Jean Scheda, Westinghouse College Prep High School

This is a first semester final project for Studio Drawing and Painting classes. Students work in the library for three days, learning how to edit videos with Chromebooks. The online editing tool we use is WeVideo.  Students produce a video to showcase all the artworks completed during 1st semester and demonstrate their understanding of the concepts, skills, techniques, artists and process learned during that project.

I have been collaborating with Ms. Coffee, a Fine Arts teacher, for three years and this is my third year working with her. For the past two years, students created eBooks to showcase their artworks. This year I recommended WeVideo.  I have shared with Ms. Coffee a short sample video created by me and showed Ms. Coffee the basics of editing with WeVideo. We have exchanged numerous emails to plan the details and discussed twice in person about how to carry out this project. I have designed a rubric for the video and Ms. Coffee made some modifications. I have also created a Wiki page for this project, which includes Ms. Coffee’s handouts, the rubric, and some useful resources for WeVideo. Students could visit the Wiki page anytime when they need help with WeVideo.

Before coming to the library, students must have taken pictures of their artworks. In this lesson, students have learned to use different techniques in editing videos. Students will be presenting this video to the class during the final exam.

This is a great learning experience for students. From time to time, students are required to create videos for a variety of projects in different classes; students could apply these video editing skills to any projects to display their learnings in the classroom.