Chromebooks
The Chromebook is a different kind of laptop. It is neither a Windows laptop or a Mac laptop and it is not purely a Linux OS device either. The Chromebook uses a Google Chrome web browser that sits on top of a very tiny Linux operating system so therefore the device boots up in as little as 8 seconds. The Chromebook uses Cloud-based or Internet-based services only and therefore requires that you have an Internet connection at home.
You do not install software on to the Chromebook in the same way you would on a Windows or Macintosh system. Instead you would make use of web-based applications to accomplish the same tasks that installed programs would do on a Windows or Macintosh computer. For instance, instead of using Microsoft Office PowerPoint, the student would use SlideRocket or Presi or even Google Presentations online. Instead of using Microsoft Office Word to type a document, the student would use Google Docs or Zoho Docs or some other similar web-based application. |
Student Chromebook User Guide for Middle School
Student Chromebook Policies and Procedures Guide for High School |
The Chequamegon School District has decided to base its 1:1 program for the 2nd through 12th grades on these Chromebook devices because of their rapid boot, very long 8 hour battery life and also because of their simplicity in use and scalability. When deployed in a classroom the teacher does not need to be a technician to get a roomful of devices up and running, The students open the cover and in 8 to 10 seconds they log on to their accounts. All of their information is then synchronized to the device. All students have a Google account that will get them access to any Chromebook and to their documents and other content.