Chromebooks in the Classroom
As more school districts
are going one-to-one with technology devices, the Chromebook seems to be a very
popular choice among many of them. There are many reasons why the Chromebook is
such a great device for schools, especially over a traditional laptop.
- The average Google Chromebook
costs around $200.
- Chromebooks use cloud storage
instead of large hard drives.
- The lightweight operating
system allows for quick startup (boot) times and fast web browsing.
- Chromebooks allow students to
take part in collaborative learning with their peers, anywhere and at any
time.
- Teachers and student can use Google Classroom to create and submit (paperless) assignments online.
As I read more about
Chromebooks in the classroom, I used the R.A.T. model for technology
integrations to help me have a better understanding of its impact on learning.
The R.A.T. model assess technology as replacement, amplification, and/or
transformation. If the technology is simply replacing traditional teaching
methods and no greater learning or understanding is taking place, the
technological device is simply useless in the classroom. We do not need to
replace teachers; we need to enhance, amplify, and transform learning in ways
we never imagined! Our goal as educators should be to use technology to
reinvent instruction; help students learn in new ways not possible otherwise.
Replacement:
As we look at the idea
of replacement and the Chromebook, there are many ways that one could get stuck
in this ‘realm’ so to speak. I know from experience (with both of my girls),
many teachers place pages upon pages of notes online for the students to copy
in their journals and notebooks. While I like that they have information at
their fingertips, I feel that more exciting things could be taking place.
Amplification:
When teachers take
learning a step further and share interactive learning tools such as Google
Slides, videos, or web links, I feel that students get more out of the lesson.
Anyone can read and copy notes, but to be able to watch a video in class or at
home, brings lessons to life.
Transformation:
Chromebooks have the
ability to drastically transform any classroom, elementary to college. Through
programs such as Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc., students are able to collaborate
in ways never before imagined. Just a few years ago, students would have to
work on projects in class or during a planned meeting time after school. With
Google, this is a thing of the past. A group of students have the power to work
wherever they are together on a project, in real time. This is an incredible
transformation for students of all ages. In addition, students from other
schools, states, even countries can work together to create amazing projects
and dialogue. In addition to collaborating with others, students can access a
plethora of educational apps that take learning to a new level, in and out of
the classroom.
In the year 2019,
technology is everywhere we look. Many of us cannot live without our
smartphones or laptops, me included. With the ever-changing job market and
technology-driven career paths, students must learn at a young age how to best
use these devices. The Chromebook is a great choice for students of all ages
and ability levels. To learn more about Chromebooks in the classroom,
following the links below and see how they can transform your classroom.
References:
Hughes, J. (2018). R.A.T.
Model. Retrieved from http://techedges.org/r-a-t-model/
Porter, M. (2015). 7 Reasons
Your Students Need Chromebooks in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://blog.goguardian.com/7-reasons-why-your-students-need-chromebooks
Roland, J. (2016). Integrating
Technology in the Classroom: 10 Chromebook Tips. Retrieved from https://insights.samsung.com/2016/09/29/integrating-technology-in-the-classroom-10-chromebook-tips/
I appreciate your clear evaluation of Chromebooks and the links you provided to learn more. However, I wanted to echo the frustration you experience with your children's teachers posting notes for copying. This must be a common occurrence, because my middle school daughter has the same experience in one class at school. She is bored to death with this type of teaching. On the other hand, she has a wonderful ELA teacher who uses Chromebooks in an exciting and transformative manner. Recently the teacher challenged students to create a newspaper front page in the time period of the novel they are reading, The Outsiders. My daughter absolutely loved creating period advertisements and writing articles that might have been found in a paper of that time. I bet you can guess which class she looks forward to attending, and which learning she wants to discuss at the dinner table!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds exciting! I have an 8th and 4th grader, both of which have totally different experiences with the Chromebooks. A fun, creative lesson and task can make all the difference!
DeleteHi Jayme,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post on Chromebooks! I've used a Mac for over five years and gotten used to that OS and brand. However, I've heard great things about Chromebooks being used by students! I would love to see this kind of technology integrated into the future school I work in, especially for student collaboration.
All of the middle school students I work with have their own Chromebooks that they use in just about every class throughout the day. I agree that students do seem to retain information better when they take notes by hand. One way I’ve found to work around this with the Chromebooks is by having students summarize my notes in a way that is meaningful to them. Then I have them present their notes using Prezi. The fact that they can chose their own layout for their presentation and add graphics to it really helps them to retain the information better. Also, they get valuable experience in giving presentations which they’ll start doing more of in high school and college.
ReplyDelete-Casey Marlowe
My district is struggling to find funds to have laptops for each student. Currently, in my school we only have 10% student to computer ratio. So we are in a scramble to research and find an affordable laptop to purchase on a large scale. I found your blog very useful in garnering information about the Chromebooks. I completely agree with your statement that technology is an inevitable part of our students future.
ReplyDeleteJeannie Simmons
Good afternoon Jayme,
ReplyDeleteThanks for a wonderful blog this week on "Chromebooks in the classroom". I have to agree with everyone that the teacher posting notes for note copying is the most boring, unpopular, and old-timing way for children to learn. Even when I was in college, I disliked having a boring teacher. I literally never learned anything from the class. The chromebook too much to offer not to limit studnets to this type of teaching unless you are that teacher that do not get along with technology. As a librarian, I have many teachers that do not like technology and would rather stick with the "old-timing teaching", paper and pencil. I am still working on getting them used to using the chromebooks more for their lessons. Most importantly, I'd like to thank you for breaking down the RAT model so that I could better understand it. For some reason, this model in particular was the most difficult to grasp. You did a wonderful job breaking down each stage and providing great examples for each. I also agreed with you when you stated, "With the ever-changing job market and technology-driven career paths, students must learn at a young age how to best use these devices. This is very true. The earlier we introduce students to technology, the more knowledgeable they will be. Currently, I have 5th grade students that are working on building their own websites. It’s never early to start them off. Lastly, thanks for the chromebook tips. I plan to share these helpful resources with my teachers that are having a hard time with utilizing chromebooks in their classrooms. Thanks for the wonderful blog!
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ReplyDeleteThank you for the detailed review of Chromebooks. I am currently in a district with 1:1 iPad deployment in middle and high schools. I love the creative and collaborative capabilities of the iPads. Several teachers and students do wish we had a keyboard and we definitely miss flash capabilities on the web for those websites who haven't made or won't ever make the transition to HTML 5. Unfortunately the current app work arounds for flash are blocked since students were using them to work around other things also. Our district is exploring other 1:1 devices that will be likely be launched in the fall. When they tested these devices students seemed to like the Chromebooks - new to them and they have had their iPad for 5 years so not sure a one time hour long use is a good tevaluative est. While I love some aspects of the Chromebooks I am concerned about losing some of the creativity and video creation capabilities. Without dedicated (and required) time for technology and instructional coaching, I am also concerned we will move back to mostly substitution (SAMR model) or Replacement (R) of the RAT model.
ReplyDeleteJayme,
ReplyDeleteYour blog made excellent points for why Chromebooks are a great choice when adding technology into the classroom. I like that you pointed out that students can interact with each other almost anywhere using their Chromebooks. Thank you for sharing the resources. My school uses Chromebooks and these will come in handy. Great use of the R.A. T. model.
Thank you,
M. McCabe Rentz