Express set up of a new Chromebook quickly using your Android phone

The set up process for the first installation on a Chromebook is not difficult but has been made a bit easier [[from Chrome 128] by using your Android phone to automatically complete some of the necessary steps.

Click here to read "ChromeOS 128 OOBE allows express setup via your Android phone"

Tutorial : Covers key chromeOS features to get you up and running quickly

The entry below is an abridged extract of an article received by email from aboutchromebooks.com - a trusted company that provide us with some great teaching resources. 

Click here to read their complete article that includes some diagrams that you might find helpful.

Tips for new Chromebook users 

Click here to see a ChromeUnboxed article from Dec 2022, with an accompanying video, that is aimed at beginners but is worth remembering.

Tips, aimed at Teacher, but uesful for all Chromebook users 

Click here to see a page on Google's blog called "10 Chromebook features teachers will love" that can be shared with everyone.

Learn to use chromeOS with this Chromebook simulator                                                                  by Kevin C. Tofel  Apr 23 2022

Learn to use chromeOS, even without a Chromebook by using this simulator.

While not being able to cover every single function you can learn to use chromeOS and pick up all of the key functionality pretty easily. 

All you need to do is fire up a web browser and hit this website.

The simulator provides a menu on the left, gathering up topics in specific groups. But it also shows the most popular chromeOS topics front and center. So you can start wherever you want, looking through the groups, hitting the top picks, or even searching for a feature.

Whichever you decide, I highly recommend clicking the full-screen option before using the simulator to learn about a topic. That's because there's a virtual Chromebook that takes you step-by-step for each function in a lesson. It may also help to zoom in on some of the smaller details that can be difficult to read. 

Each walkthrough doesn't just tell you the steps, though. The idea is for you to click the chromeOS interface on the virtual Chromebook to move through each step. 

Think of it as a virtual teacher that makes the class actually perform each step on a Chromebook. 

Technically, you can skip the clicking around by tapping the "Next" button to proceed to the next part of the process for any lesson. But honestly, why would you? 

The easiest way to learn any new software is to walk through it step-by-step and actually, or virtually, use it. 

The simulator makes it easy by flashing the appropriate interface element you need to click.

Overall, I'd say you can learn to use chromeOS basics in under 30 minutes with this tool. Sure, there are plenty of advanced features and topics that aren't covered and some of the topics may need updating as chromeOS evolves with every four-week software update. 

The app Launcher shown in the simulator isn't the latest version, for example. 

Then again, the vastly improved Chrome OS Productivity Launcher just arrived in Chrome OS 100 a few weeks ago, so I'd expect to see the simulator updated accordingly in the near future.

Either way,  just covering the basics of chromeOS in this simple, approachable method can be very useful. 

As it runs on the web, you can learn to use chromeOS even if you don't have a Chromebook.