Can I survive with just a Chromebook and ditch my teacher PC?
For the past year I had been contemplating the switch and was initially hesitant. For one, I knew that my interactive whiteboard (a Hitachi Starboard) would not run on the Chrome OS. Secondly, I did not have a projector with HDMI. A fail turned into a win about a month ago when my old projector failed. The district had no replacement bulbs but did have a nice new projector that was installed. I have a nice Onkyo amplifier/receiver that I run my HDMI through and sound is so much better through real speakers! I also had an old 2 MP IPEVO document camera that works great with the Chrome IPEVO Presenter app.
I kept my PC and moved it to a counter that runs on the right along the front of the room. There are a few things I still need it for including; accessing documents I never transferred to my Google Drive and using my interactive whiteboard (which I haven't used since the change).
One obvious benefit has been being able to quickly take what I've been working on with me. Period 1 I have to report to the suspension room and it is handy just being able to clam up the Chromebook and get out of my room. I can then easily return before class and plug in the HDMI and start class. The same goes for the afternoon and packing up to go home. The Chromebook keeps a charge and I can easily work with it through the weekend without a charger. The space savings on my desk can't be overstated. Students no longer have to look around my monitor and I have more room to use the document camera. An unexpected side benefit is that unlike a desktop PC the Chromebook doesn't randomly decide to update and restart. Also, when a student hits the red emergency electrical off button the Chromebook doesn't shut off.
The switch has been a success. Now, if only all my students had Chromebooks on a daily basis.
I kept my PC and moved it to a counter that runs on the right along the front of the room. There are a few things I still need it for including; accessing documents I never transferred to my Google Drive and using my interactive whiteboard (which I haven't used since the change).
One obvious benefit has been being able to quickly take what I've been working on with me. Period 1 I have to report to the suspension room and it is handy just being able to clam up the Chromebook and get out of my room. I can then easily return before class and plug in the HDMI and start class. The same goes for the afternoon and packing up to go home. The Chromebook keeps a charge and I can easily work with it through the weekend without a charger. The space savings on my desk can't be overstated. Students no longer have to look around my monitor and I have more room to use the document camera. An unexpected side benefit is that unlike a desktop PC the Chromebook doesn't randomly decide to update and restart. Also, when a student hits the red emergency electrical off button the Chromebook doesn't shut off.
The switch has been a success. Now, if only all my students had Chromebooks on a daily basis.
