New to Chromebook?
OverView
The Wentzville School District believes that to more effectively prepare students for life in today's 21st Century, they must be engaged and learning at school in the same fashion that they are engaged and learning outside of school. Because technology pervades all aspects of today's society, this means being adaptable to innovation, digitally savvy, and virtually connected.
Providing a free technology device to every student (often referred to as "one-to-one," or abbreviated "1:1") is just one of many strategies WSD employs to prepare students for success in today's world. In a 1:1 learning environment, students are provided Chromebooks to better equip them for anytime-anywhere learning, teachers receive continued professional development to better equip them to provide innovative instruction, and all consequently become the beneficiaries of 21st Century education.
Some of the benefits of putting a technology device in the hands of every student include:
More effective development of 21st Century skills in students
More equitable digital access amongst students
More effective student-centered learning activities
Improved differentiated instruction
Increased student engagement
Increased opportunity to effectively utilize online resources
Better prepared students for typical collegiate learning environments
Improved skills and attitudes related to technology and innovation for staff
In 2011, the Wentzville School District launched it's 1:1 Access Initiative program for high school students. In school year 2018, all high school and middle school students will have a district issued Chromebook to utilize for classroom learning and projects. Students are issued their devices at the beginning of the school year with a district protective carrying case to use throughout the school year.
Physical Aspects
What is a chromebook?
Computer that runs Google Chrome web browser
Can be utilized offline, but internet connection allows for full functionality
Great battery life
Simple to operate
Navigating
The Home Screen
This is the chromebook Homescreen, from here you can access the App Launcher, App shelf, and your settings.
Wifi/Settings Menu
App Launcher
This is the App Launcher expanded, here you can access all of the apps that you have added to your chromebook.
Pinning Apps to Shelf
Right Click (two finger click on trackpad or hold ALT and click) this will allow you to place frequently used apps on the shelf for quick access
Files
The files app allows you to quickly access any file found on your Chromebook or in your Google Drive. This is also where all downloaded files are located.
You can drag any file you download to your Google Drive and it will be accessible from any device (this will also ensure that your files are accessible even if something happens to your chromebook)
troubleshooting
If you are experiencing problems with your chromebook the first thing that you can do is turn your chromebook off and then turn it back on again.
You can quickly restart your computer with this simple shortcut.