As a result of being one of the lucky recipients of a 21st-century classroom upgrade, I am able to use chrome books on a daily basis. This is also very timely because as our department's TOSA, I am in charge of PD surrounding the textbook adoption process and the technology in which it requires. We adopted StudySync and I have been very pleased with it so far, however, we still need some more development to truly see its full potential with our staff and their curriculum choices.
Throughout this process, I have learned SO MUCH about the appropriate deployment of devices in a secondary level classroom. Let me clarify, I have learned so much from research and even more from trial and a lot of error, I am a true believer in a growth mindset...
If you are in a 1:1 classroom, or are going to be, start by researching Diana Neebe and Jen Roberts' book Power Up: Making the Shift to 1:1 Teaching and Learning. It was eye-opening and transformed how I was going to approach a few things in an ELA classroom. I also recommend Jen Roberts' website litandtech.com, which I check first before doing a google search or tweeting for help.
Start here.
Depending on your personality, your district tech plan, and your admin support, your deployment can be anywhere from super easy to "I just threw 36 Chromebooks out the door and I better take up serving as a means to pay for them all". I wish you luck and I am here to help because I have experienced a little bit of both. More on that later...
One ESSENTIAL piece in a successful deployment, in my opinion, is the use of a Chromebook management system, like GoGuardian. I did so much research on it and I will eventually find a way to get a subscription (SOMEHOW!) but it is imperative! Students, no matter how engaged, find ways to meander off track and check a quick email, or shop for something online, or find a song, or youtube video, etc. and next thing, you have kids off track and behind. Or worse, someone is looking at something that is blocked or trying to hack into the block for that matter. OR, you are demonstrating something and kids can't see your screen and need some help in seeing it on their monitor from your device's every move in the lesson. This would be life-changing for me. Can you get by without it? Absolutely. But, if we are brainstorming a successful deployment, then this would be helpful for the teacher, district (for protection and documentation of student use), and for the student in keeping them on track and connected to the lesson delivery.
To Be Continued...