A new feature of school this year is that every student received a Chromebook. While it is something new and will take some adjustments to how we are being taught and how we learn, I am very hopeful that it is a step in the right direction.

After only a few weeks of school I am already seeing some advantages to having the Chromebooks. Last year, when most classrooms just had a cart with Chromebooks, it would take valuable class time to have everyone get up, get them, and then put them away again. Now everyone has their own right at their desk and can open it up and be working in seconds. Most textbooks are now on the Chromebooks as well so instead of taking home three heavy textbooks, you can just bring home one light Chromebook.

Another upside to the Chromebooks is Google Classroom. It really helps me keep track of assignments, due dates, and work I may have missed because I was absent. Most teachers post what you did in class on the Google Classroom and you can get notifications when things are due. It is a great reminder and it also allows students to communicate easily with teachers.

At home the Chromebooks are also very useful. Most homes have wifi now, so with the Chromebooks students can easily get homework done without having to worry that they don’t have a computer at home. If you don’t have wifi at home there won’t be a problem! You can check out hotspots from the media center. Plus, if you ever forget to charge your Chromebook they have some chargers in the media center you can use.