Chromebook and IT Support

If you feel that you would benefit from the loan of a Chromebook whilst doing school work from home please get in touch with us by emailing forest@4theyouth.org.uk or calling 01403 566445. This scheme is free and available to all young people registered with 4TheYouth.

We can provide technical support and help with setup to ensure young people know how to access learning tools if needed as well as support getting a Wi-Fi connection if this isn't already available.

What is a Chromebook?

A Chromebook is a basic laptop designed to access ‘cloud based’ software, mainly through the chrome web browser. The operating system is designed by Google. The laptops are robust, have great battery life, load fast and work particularly well with Google and other web based applications.

How do I login?

You will need a Google account to log into your Chromebook, this can be your own Gmail account or a school account that is powered by G-Suite.

If you already have a G-Suite account provided by your school (for example if you use Google Classroom and Gmail at school) you should be able to login with this and find any work you have saved to Google Drive at school there for you.

How do I connect to the Internet?

Your Chromebook has built in Wi-Fi and will connect to a home Wi-Fi network, or to your phones hotspot.

1. Click on the Wi-Fi icon on the bottom right
2. Click on the drop down menu and you’ll see a list of Wi-Fi networks available.
3. Select the one you want to connect to and enter the password then hit connect.

General browsing and using office based apps shouldn’t use high amounts of data, but accessing videos and using apps like Zoom other video calling tools will use a lot more data.

Most apps will need an internet connection all the time to work, although there are options for making certain files available offline so you can continue to work on them if needed.

If you don’t have Wi-fi at home and have any difficulty in getting a connection (or need advice) please do get in touch and we can help find the best solution for you.

Guest use for web browsing

If other family members need to use your Chromebook but you don’t want to run the risk of them accessing your files and deleting work, we recommend that you sign out and they either login to their own Google accounts, or click the ‘browse as guest’ option. When browsing as a guest any files and changes they make are lost when they sign out.

Joining 4TheYouth Google Meet sessions

You can join our online sessions using google meet, just visit meet.google.com and enter the Meet ID or click the link in the email sent out to you via Membermojo.

Can I use social media and video apps to stay in touch with friends and family?

Yes, you can access almost all apps using the chrome browser, including Facebook, Whatsapp (scan the QR code on your phone), Google Meet/ Hangouts, Zoom and Skype on a Chromebook.

Your Chromebook has a built in camera and mic you can use as well as a headphone/ mic jack that will work with any standard headphones. The Chromebook is also bluetooth compatible.

Using the Google Apps

G-Suite provides a full range of web based applications included with your Gmail or school G-Suite account. These apps allow you to save to Microsoft formats and export as PDF and work in a very similar way to Microsoft office.

• Google drive (15gb of online storage)
• Google docs (similar to MS Word)
• Google spreadsheets (similar to MS Excel)
• Gmail (email)
• Google Slides (similar to Powerpoint)

How do I add additional applications?

You also have the option of adding extensions to the Chrome browser using the chrome web store: https://chrome.google.com/webstore

Microsoft Office is available as an extension, just search ‘Microsoft Office’ and click ‘Add to Chrome’, you will then see the orange 3d box logo at the top of your browser and be able to sign into your Microsoft account.

Where do my files get saved?

Chromebooks work seamlessly with Google Drive by default. We recommend you save all your work to Google Drive, this will ensure it is backed up in the cloud and also mean you can access your work on any computer anywhere (as well as using the Google Drive app on other devices).

We recommend that you avoid saving anything to the ‘My Files’ or ‘Downloads’ folders as this may be lost if your user account is deleted and won’t be available if you log on to a different Chromebook.

You do have the option of plugging in a USB memory stick or an SD card into the side of the laptop and saving work locally.

Getting more support

4TheYouth staff are available to provide any technical support on 01403 566445 and happy to walk you through anything you’re struggling with.

Our youth workers are also available to provide a wide range of additional support, be it talking to someone about things you are struggling with or practical support in dealing with the impact of the lockdown and coronavirus.