Getting Started with Chromebooks, Margaret Rux, Librarian, Pasteur Elementary School

Recently, Louis Pasteur Elementary School Library received 19 Chromebooks from a REVITAL (RE-enVision to Integrate Technology and Libraries) Grant through the Chicago Public Schools Department of Libraries. Receiving these iPads has made it possible to plan long-term lessons utilizing technology.

Along the way, I have learned some lessons on integrating this technology in the library. First, it is important to have the students understand that the acceptable use policy that they signed at the beginning of the year applies to the use ALL technology including the Chromebooks. Second, I found it easier to keep track of the Chromebooks by labeling them with a number. To keep track of who is using what; one of the students’ jobs at each table is that of task manager, and among their responsibilities is to manage the devises at their table (iPads and Chromebrooks). The task manager completes the sign-out sheet and turns it in. That way if there is a problem, I know who the last student was using that devise. Finally, it was important to take the time to demonstrate the proper use and care of Chromebooks (they are quite fragile).

There are several websites that I want all my students to be familiar with. I include the address for these on a task card and place that card in the toolbox. A toolbox is a plastic container that contains task cards (assignments, graphic organizers, websites, etc.) I find this a great way for students to be self sufficient! One of the things I like about the Chromebooks is that there is no desktop for students to “play” with. I like that students have to put in the address for every sight they want to go to. In addition, I have my students log in as guest to avoid having sign-in icons on the desktop. Students are required to go to Google and log in. So far this seems to be working out well.

Now that the students are comfortable using the Chromebooks I am having the fifth grade students begin working on a project using Google Docs. Since I am now teaching health class in addition to my other responsibilities, I decided to blend research with health. Students will create a publication on healthy living. Items students could include in the publication are articles, charts, graphs, checklist, editorials, interviews and comics. We are just at the beginning stages of this project so I will keep you posted as to success and challenges.

Thank Goodness for Chromebooks during the Science Fair, Viviane Kraus, Franklin Fine Arts

The Franklin Fine Arts Center upper grades has been extremely busy with Science Fair…

I have worked with students on Science Fair for many years in the library.  I can’t tell you how much more time the students had to actually conduct research because they did not have to log into the computers and wait (sometimes it would take 1-2 minutes with our old laptops).  But, not with the Chromebooks.  The simple log-on as guest is so fabulous and then the internet and Google CPS is right at the student's fingertips.  

First, we created a Science Fair folder in their Google Drive where students were to keep all of their documents regarding Science Fair.  It was so simple for the students to start conducting research and work in Google Docs simultaneously on the Chromebooks.

Second, students were also able to share their Review of Literature and their Reference List with me prior to turning in their final copy to their teacher for a grade.  This helped the classroom teacher tremendously and the teachers were so impressed and appreciative.  

Another time the Chromebooks impressed me during Science Fair is when I modeled the EasyBib Add-On for the student and then all the students  had to do was log into their Google CPS mail and add the Add-On and there the EasyBib was right at their fingertips.  Again, within seconds, the student could be creating a Reference List citation.

Last, my favorite bonus about using the Chromebooks would be that I would give a quick tutorial on a Database and then student could be practicing and using that database in a matter of seconds.  This is truly amazing, this way the student wouldn’t forget the tutorial and could apply what they learned almost instantly.

This will truly make our students career and college ready.

Nightingale Library: Chromebooks, Drive and Mackin Via, Erin McDonald, Librarian, Nightingale Elementary

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.

Pirie Citizenship in the Digital Age, Stacie Bell, Librarian, Pirie Elementary School

As my students gain more access to technology, I have become more concerned with how they interact with that technology. Many of the programs I envision using with students will allow them to interact with each other and the rest of the world. In the past, when I talked to my students about online safety, most of the concepts tended to be abstract. With the addition of 19 Chromebooks to my Library, I have made more of an effort to include these topics in my curriculum.

Using  lessons from both BrainPop and Common Sense’s Digital Passport, I have begun a unit with my 4th-6th graders on digital citizenship. While using Digital Passport, we are discussing how technology can be a distraction, respecting privacy, cyberbullying, copyright issues, and keyword searches. Each unit has a game, questions to answer and an extension activity. The activities are very engaging and let students work at their own pace. The online version is free and allows teachers to create and track classes. I have found however, that in order to use this program with the iPad, you need to purchase an app for $3.99.

My students have also been furthering these discussions using BrainPop. This online program is based on a subscription, which I am very fortunate to have at my school. BrainPop offers short, animated videos on many topics, including digital citizenship. As a class, we watch and discuss the videos. BrainPop also provides quizzes, articles, and enables students to create mind maps based on what they learned.

By utilizing these programs, I am hopeful that my students will become better acclimated in how to behave in the digital world they often spend so much time in. I expect to see my students be more respectful and courteous even when they are only virtually interacting with someone. I am also looking to see students be mindful of their own security by protecting passwords and their online identity, and monitoring what personal information and photos they post. These real life skills will allow my students to navigate through the 21st Century and more comfortably access the vast amounts of knowledge offered.

Phillips Anime/Manga Club, KC Boyd, Librarian, Phillips High School

When the Chromebooks arrived in my Library Media Center, the students were extremely excited.  Many of the students had persuaded their family members to purchase these devices instead of the more pricier iPad over the last year.  In addition, some of the students also had the experience of using the devices in Music and AP History classes so this made the introduction to the device easy.  

The first group I used the Chromebooks with was not a traditional class, it was actually an after school club.  The Phillips Anime/Manga Club began earlier this year and I agreed to sponsor the 14 students that are in the club.  Their first assignment:  Google Slideshow describing the club.  When students want to begin a new club at Phillips, they must secure a sponsor and then give a formal presentation to the principal justifying the need/interest.  Once the principal approved the club, the students expanded the slideshow and created the ‘Action Plan’ that was presented to all of the students in the club.   

There were many lunch period meetings in the Library Media Center and they developed the content and language for the presentation on their own.  You can view the slideshow here:  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Oq3ubrRFG5I9MTGeEsumGAlS4h_4WvWQhYv8XVbUQZU/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000.  The Vice-President surprised me and  revised the slideshow and flipped it into a Prezi using the Chromebooks.  His explaination was he wanted to attract more students and using Prezi was more visually stimulating than slides and he could include the music that is associated with the genre.  Also, he felt that using Google Slides was easier for the ‘old people’ (my principal and I) to read and understand as opposed to using a Prezi.

The next order of business was to create a Anime/Manga Club website.  The students used the Chromebooks and created a free Weebly site.  Once again, students came to the Library Media Center during lunch periods and after school to work on the website.  Here’s a sampling of their work, it’s not quite finished but they are almost there:   http://phillipsanimemangaclub.weebly.com/ .  The students developed the website on their own and received approval from me as they moved through each step.  One main area that I wanted to see present on the website is a portal for recommended reads.  The students complained that I don’t have many of the books in my collection that they are interested in.  My attitude is I can use this as a platform to advocate for funding for the books from my administration.  Stay tuned…..we’ll see!

Overall, the initial rollout was good.  The only snag was when students didn’t log out of their account.  This is why numbering the Chromebooks are important, it helps maintain order and track down the last student in the building that used that particular device.  The beauty of this is I’m seeing a different side to students that I have know for the last three years.  Anime/Manga is their life and passion.  This group is my loudest group in the Library Media Center during lunch periods because they debate the content of the various AMV’s that are on the web.   Have I had to put them out of the Library Media Center for their behavior, you bet but they keep coming back!  Moreover, the Chromebooks are excellent devices for them to use.  They are easy to handle, portable, small and can be used in their laps or at the tables.  I’ve even seen students curled up in corners and laying on the floor using the devices.  My challenge is to identify a good app that will give them the flexibility of creating their own AMV’s and drawings.  The ultimate goal is these AMV’s will appear in episodes of ‘Behind the Paws’ and during monthly assemblies.

See the video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xiy18_0jLes

Animal Research with Chromebooks, Eric Currie, Librarian, Hitch Elementary School

I have taken Connie Amon’s iPad Lesson and tweaked it. Students in grades 2-4 have been
using the chromebooks to access eBooks on SOAR. We started out looking at an unlimited access book about polar bears to ask and answer questions about the animal. Students were
then given guided questions to answer about an animal of their choice using SOAR eBooks.

Next, I gave the grade 2-3 students a modified Cornell Note handout. This handout has the format of a Cornell Note, but the questions are already created. The added to their knowledge of the animal (or narrowed down their topic) by using the Kids Infobits database.  I was able to up the ante on technology use with 4th grade students. They have their Google Accounts so I was able to send an email to the 4th grade list of the view-only digital version of the Cornell Note. The students then went to “File” and “Make a Copy”so that they could take their notes right on the Chromebook.

We are wrapping up the research component of this project. Unlike Connie’s use of Puppet
Pals, we’re going to use Green Screen by DoInk. Students will create puppets of their
animals and scripts where they will talk about facts with the animal. We’re going to use green
construction paper as the “screen” for the green screen app.

Researching with Chromebooks, Marcia Mariscal, Librarian, Goethe Elementary School

The Chromebooks have been a wonderful window of opportunity for me to increase the use of technology in my classroom.  I began by introducing the new Chromebooks to 3rd through 5th grade and 7th grade.  Our students in 6th and 8th grade travel with their own Chromebooks, thanks to an effort by the school to introduce technology into those grade cycles.  Our school is slowly adding technology into the classrooms. After explaining the grant and the purpose for having the chromebooks in the library, students were excited about the future projects we would work on in the library.  The transition into using them was easy since the students were familiar with Chromebooks and its key features, thanks to our Technology teachers.  

The first project I decided to work on with my 3-5th graders was learning to conduct research using a CPS database.  As a whole class we created research grids.  The research grids had questions students had generated about their topic.  The grids helped steer their research in the right direction as they browsed Kids InfoBits for information.  My students loved the new modern look and user friendly graphic interface Kids InfoBits was sporting.  It is more appealing to my 5th graders than the previous version.  I had one day dedicated to discovering all the new features of Kids InfoBits by my students using the Chromebooks.  Since some of my class sizes range from 24 to 30, I had to use the iPads as well, alternating them among students so everyone had a chance to work on a Chromebook.  After attending a PARCC Assessment Workshop given by CPS department of Literacy, I decided to have the students look for images about their topic in kids InfoBits writing all the information they could extract from a single image.  The students scrolled the images with ease on the Chromebooks. My bilingual students used headphones to listen to all the information on the image being read to them. They analyzed their pictures and wrote their information.

With the technology now in the library I taught a lesson to my 6th-8th graders on “In-Text Citation”.  My 6th-8th Grade students watched a 3 minute video on “In-Text Citation” in Vimeo. After watching the video, I reinforced it with a 5 minute mini-lesson, then the students practiced adding in-text citation to 10 quotes from the website noredink.com.  The website is free and it tracks the student’s progress as they practice using the MLA format for in-text citation. What’s wonderful about the website is the explanation it gives the students if they incorrectly cite a quote.  Before the Chromebooks, I would have had the students practice citation in their notebooks. This would not have allowed me to personalize instruction for 30 students in a 45 minute time-slot.  Finding programs that tutor students and help them correct their mistakes on site, improves their citation skills. It also allowed me the time to work with small groups of students on certain skills, as others worked on the Chromebooks.

I love how easy it is to use a Chromebook in the classroom.  Downloaded images or information is not stored in the memory of the Chromebooks, a great feature when multiple students are using the Chromebooks throughout the day.  I have my students login under guest. That’s just my preference.  The only setback for me currently is the inability to download google apps to familiarize myself with these features for teaching.  The Tech teacher has requested I be added to the Admin console but as of Today, I still have no access to these features. Other than being able to manage google apps, the technology in my classroom has added to the richness of my daily lessons.