The Chromebooks are Out!

Students logging into
Chromebook  for 1st time.

The 25 classroom sets (700+ devices) of Chromebooks have been delivered and are now in use.  The "Official" district roll-out date for the devices was February 7; however, we cheated. We started rolling out our carts little by little in the middle of January.  As one teacher commented "...having these in my class but not able to use them, is like getting a new car for Christmas, but not getting the keys until after New Years."

Some quick observations:

• There are  a lot of really good things happening in the classrooms with the Chromebooks.  I will share  more later on what's happening in the classes.
• The professional development done in preparation for the Chromebooks was helpful, but now the devices are in the classrooms and teachers are asking for more PD.
• Teachers need time to collaborate with other teachers from their curriculum area who are involved in phase 1.
• The students have adapted well.  The biggest complaint by students is having to "add user" when their login icon gets pushed off of the screen.

Overall the roll-out has gone smoothly.   There have been occasional glitches, but nothing we haven't been able to deal with.  I was anticipating an increased work load (calls from teachers, student questions, etc.) with the roll out, but it hasn't happened.  Having great teachers involved with the roll-out simply means life is good at BHS!