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Does anyone have experience with a program like Loan-a-Chromebook Project before?

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Does anyone have experience with a program like Loan-a-Chromebook Project before?

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Did anyone see that Sprint donated 9000 Internet hotspots to the LA school district!

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Did anyone see that Sprint donated 9000 Internet hotspots to the LA school district!

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"With the right tools, nothing can hold these students back.”

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Above: Garfield High freshmen Andrea Sierra, left, and Ana Vargas exhibit mobile 'hot spots' and ChromeBooks that will help them stay connected outside of the school day.
Nearly 9,000 L.A. Unified students are receiving mobile "hot spot" devices they can use to connect to the Internet any time, anywhere as part of the Sprint 1Million program.

The telecommunications giant is working with its philanthropic wing, the Sprint Foundation, to donate gadgets the size of mobile phones to help as many as a million students nationwide gain connectivity they can use to get ahead in school.

The Sprint-L.A. Unified partnership was formally announced Monday at a ceremony at Garfield High School.

"This is really all about the future of our communities," said Kevin Kunkel, Sprint's regional president for Southern California. "We are aiming to help students stay on top of their assignments and homework with connectivity outside the classroom. In early trial deployments, we have already seen students doing much better in school with better attendance, and teachers are equally excited about the results. With the right tools, nothing can hold these students back."

The District's Information Technology Division successfully applied for the Sprint grant and is now partnering with the Division of Instruction to deliver the "hot spot" devices, along with Google ChromeBooks and backpacks funded by voter-approved bond revenue. Students get access to the technology as long as they are in high school.

Acting superintendent Vivian Ekchian praised Sprint and District personnel for moving the program forward.

"We are extremely grateful to Sprint for this generous donation and to our schools, our IT and instructional professionals for working so hard to support our students," she said. "Access to technology is a critical part of our mission to provide a personalized, high-quality educational experience for every student. And, the Sprint 1Million program is giving so many of our students a critical leg up in their efforts to achieve."

Garfield High freshmen Andrea Sierra and Ana Vargas were among the 450 students who received devices at the campus this week. They spoke to the crowd on behalf of their fellow students, bravely sharing their own personal stories and showing appreciation for the program.

"We know what it's like to struggle to have the Internet access we need to complete writing assignments, research projects or interact with our teachers and fellow students," said Sierra, who plans to pursue a career in law. "We want everyone to know how much this benefits students like us and how thankful we are that there are people looking out for us and helping us do well in school."

Schools surveyed students to identify those who would benefit most from the program. Qualifying students were enrolled in the program and invited to check out the devices at deployments like the one at Garfield. The District hopes to expand the program to additional students in the coming years.

"This will make my life so much better," said Garfield senior Angel Duran. "Before now, I didn't have a way to get Internet access at home, so I had to take the bus super early in the morning or super late at night to get to libraries or other places were I could work on my assignments. Now I won't have to struggle so much and can complete essays, class projects and interact with my teachers and other students any time and anywhere."

Written by: Samuel Gilstrap on November 1, 2017. on November 2, 2017.

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Sprint 1Million project aims to close the 'homework gap' for thousands of L.A. Unified students

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Above: Garfield High freshmen Andrea Sierra, left, and Ana Vargas exhibit mobile 'hot spots' and ChromeBooks that will help them stay connected outside of the school day. Nearly 9,000 L.A. Unified students are receiving mobile "hot spot" devices they can use to connect to the Internet any time, anywhere as part of the Sprint 1Million program.

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Chromebooks are a simple, secure, and shareable device teachers and students can use to create and collaborate. Make learning more engaging.

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Why Chromebooks Have Expanded in K-12 Classrooms

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Why Chromebooks Have Expanded in K-12 Classrooms

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Did you know Chromebooks made up 60 percent of all U.S. education shipments in 2017? To put that number in perspective, in 2012, Chromebooks made up less than a single percent of the education market, according to Computerworld.

So why are Chromebooks gaining-and maintaining-the momentum within the K-12 classroom? And how do teachers and students use these devices for learning?

The Growth of Chromebooks in K-12

When K-12 officials were asked by Education Week Research Center which school-provided tools educators and students use most for instruction in their districts, "42 percent of survey respondents said Chromebooks, far outpacing PC laptops, at 15 percent, and PC desktops and Apple iPads, both at 13 percent."

An article by Android Central reports that as of January 2018, there are:

25 million students using a Chromebook at school.

30 million students using Google Classroom.

80 million students using G Suite for Education.

Just Google (ha - computer puns) schools adopting Chromebooks in their classroom and you will easily find multiple articles with similar headlines:

If you're in the market for Chromebooks, Kajeet just announced the Kajeet Chromebook Bundle for K-12 schools! Find out more here.

But there's more to the Chromebook growth than just popularity.

The main appeal of Chromebooks that educators hear frequently is price.

Kecia Ray, the executive director of the Center for Digital Education, said "It's the price point. I don't hear anyone talking about the bells and whistles," when asked to explain the draw of Chromebooks in an Edweek Market Brief article.

When it comes to cost, Chromebooks are the cheaper option for K-12, especially as schools move to a 1:1 setup. The same article states, "Chromebooks' low cost gives district leaders confidence that they can buy large numbers of the devices and replace them if needed."

And the end of the day, kids are kids, and accidents happen. Devices will be dropped, spilled on, eaten by the dog (oh wait, that's homework) - but you get it. Chromebooks are durable and built with students in mind.

Then there is the overwhelming usage of Chrome tools such as the G Suite for Education. When K-12 officials were asked, "which of the following are used for school-related purposes most frequently in your district or classroom?", the results showed:

68 percent said Google G Suite and/or Google Classroom.

17 percent said Microsoft Office 365 and/or Microsoft Classroom.

1 percent said Apple iWork and/or Apple Classroom.

14 percent reported they do not use any of the aforementioned products.

If educators are already using Google's extensive online platform, switching to a Google-based hardware is natural.

How Teachers and Students Use Chromebooks for Learning

By pairing Chromebooks with the Google G Suite, educators are seeing positive impacts on learning outcomes.

After Chromebooks and G Suite were rolled out, Google and the Evergreen Education Group studied the results and discovered, "Passing rates of students in one class...improved from 75 to 94 percent. Students at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina were outperforming the entire state on standardized tests and exceeding expectations."

Jacob Standish, the digital learning conversion program manager for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, said, "With Chromebooks, teachers can direct activities to the needs of each student. Students don't have to wait for their teacher to guide them, freeing teachers to create open-ended lessons giving students more freedom and creativity."

A major part of the G Suite ecosystem is Google Drive. Teachers use the Google Drive to access tools such as Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and more. And all of these Google tools allow for sharing and collaboration directly within the document at the same time.

The Chrome browser also offers more digital tools that teachers can take advantage of such as creating a class blog for students to follow, or a class website that students make themselves. Plus there are tons of Chrome extensions available. If you're looking for a few extensions to try, check out this comprehensive list of 50 extensions for teachers.

With Chromebooks, these tools are accessible at school or at home. But it's important to remember that not all students have the same access once they leave school for the day.

Bringing Digital Equity to Chromebooks

Kajeet is dedicated to creating solutions to close the Homework Gap. (If you're curious in learning more, check out our " Closing the Homework Gap:A Guide to Increasing Student Success with Home Connectivity," eBook written by the Kajeet Founder and CEO, Daniel Neal.)

We understand that the Homework Gap still exists, and as more schools adopt 1:1 and send devices home, not all students have the same equal access to the Internet.

Which is why here at Kajeet we are excited to announce our new Kajeet Chromebook Bundle-the ultimate student connectivity solution! This offering combines the Kajeet customer support, service, and filtered Internet connectivity educators have come to know and expect - with the most popular and durable Chromebook for K-12 students.

The Kajeet Chromebook Bundle is more than just a Chromebook. It includes:

The rugged CTL Chromebook NL7-built specifically for K-12 students.

4G LTE Internet connectivity with the trusted Kajeet SmartSpot® device.

Data for an entire school year on any of six trusted carriers in North America.

All-in-one Chromebook case designed specifically to hold both the Kajeet SmartSpot and CTL Chromebook.

The powerful Kajeet Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution.

If your school or district is in the market for new Chromebooks, or you're looking to connect your students to filtered Internet at home, Kajeet is here to help.

We'd love to hear more about your 1:1 programs in the comments below!

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Why Chromebooks Have Expanded in K-12 Classrooms

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Did you know Chromebooks made up 60 percent of all U.S. education shipments in 2017? To put that number in perspective, in 2012, Chromebooks made up less than a single percent of the education market, according to Computerworld . So why are Chromebooks gaining-and maintaining-the momentum within the K-12 classroom?

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How a school district in Virginia adopted Chromebooks and what we can learn from it

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How a school district in Virginia adopted Chromebooks and what we can learn from it

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Virginia's Chesterfield County Schools recently announced that it will launch the largest education deployment of Chromebooks to date. Here's what you can learn from it.

Image: Chesterfield County Public Schools

As Chromebooks gain serious traction in the education market, schools are beginning to work through massive deployments of Google's cloud-based laptops. For example, Milwaukee Public Schools rolled out 11,400 devices, Edmonton Public Schools rolled out 13,000 devices, and Chicago Public Schools topped them both at 16,000 devices.

Now, Chicago has been topped as an even larger Chromebook deployment has begun.

Originally posted on the official Google blog, Virginia's Chesterfield County Public Schools (CCPS), one of the 100 largest school systems in the country, announced that it will be switching to Chromebooks in some of its schools. The rollout will begin in the upcoming school year, with each of the 32,475 middle and high school students getting a Dell Chromebook to use.

CCPS ran a pilot program where it studied the use of six pilot devices in each classroom. School leaders ran a public website where they could chronicle the study and answer questions for parents and teachers. It compared iPads, Chromebooks, Windows 8 tablets, Kindle Fires, a Windows 7 notebook, and an Android tablet; putting them in students' hands at all school levels.

This didn't all happen overnight, though. It took years of rolling out different Google products and preparing the schools for the changes. Let's take a look at the journey of CCPS to Chromebooks.

Making a way

The road toward Chromebooks began for CCPS in the 2011-2012 academic year when the schools introduce Google Apps for Education to all of the teachers and students. Adam Seldow, executive director of technology of Chesterfield County Public Schools, said that it was in an effort to promote blended learning.

"Blended learning is a teaching practice that combines online instruction with face-to-face instruction where students have more opportunities to direct their own learning through the availability of interactive web-based applications," Seldow said. "We began using Google Apps for Education originally because we needed digital creation tools that were both robust and easy to use, as well as immediately scalable to 60,000 students and over 7,000 staff members."

The next step was to convert all of the district's staff to Gmail from the Microsoft Exchange server they had been using. Matthew D'Ascoli, the manager of instructional technology, said that this was because of a change in thinking.

"We're shifting to the idea that technology is part of our tier one instruction. It's part of where we introduce information. It's making our teachers more efficient, it's making our teachers more effective," D'Ascoli.

At this point CCPS began moving toward deploying the devices. When they ran the aforementioned pilot, there were two devices that emerged as winners. It came down to the Windows 7 notebook and the Chromebook. Being that the Chromebook was much cheaper, CCPS decided to go with it.

After setting a clear goal to accomplish with this program and figuring out which device to move forward with, the district had to make sure everything was in place to accommodate the new machines.

Image: Chesterfield County Public Schools

Building the infrastructure

What's especially interesting about the Chromebook deployment at CCPS is that it was done within the limitations of their existing budget. Meaning no money was added to the budget to deploy the Chromebooks.

According to Seldow, a lot of time was spent working with school administrators to make sure the logistics were ironed out before the deployment. Each school's administrative group is in charge of that particular school's works with its own technology team to manage the logistical processes for the devices. CCPS also spent time on a accidental damage warranty, and a contract to make sure no student had to go more than 24 hours without a Chromebook.

After the teachers and administrators were taken care of, Seldow and his team turned their attention to the existing network.

"We essentially tripled the amount of wireless to create the proper density to support multiple devices per student, and leased as much bandwidth as the budget would allow," Seldow said. "Beyond the network, we focused on removing barriers to accessing web-based tools by creating a single-sign-on dashboard where all students and teachers begin their blended learning journey. After entering their username and password one time, they can click on any application we offer and launch directly into it without having to create an account or manage multiple usernames and passwords.

When the Chromebooks are rolled out this coming Fall, they will not be going to every student just yet. Right now the plan is for just the middle and high school students to get them, with the middle school students getting the first wave of devices this coming school year.

"We have 62 buildings here, and of those 62 buildings we have 12 middle schools and that will be the first year, this upcoming school year," D'Ascoli said. "Approximately 14,000 - 15,000 Chromebooks for the middle schools this year, and the following year the high schools will be getting them."

The most surprising part of this whole process, according to network manager Achim Purdy, was the robust nature of management associated with the Chromebooks. Purdy said the district was using Active Directory to manage its existing Windows computers and it took a dedicated staff member to maintain. According to Purdy, the Chromebooks can be managed by a few clicks.

"A big selling point to parents is that the student Chromebooks use the district's content filtering to ensure a safer student experience no matter how they access the Internet. The filter is always on," Purdy said.

As Seldow and the Chesterfield County Public Schools get ready for the rollout, they want to make sure they, as Purdy put it, are doing all they can to keep the technology out of the way of learning.

What you can learn: Three takeaways

If you are considering a move to Google Apps and Chromebooks for your school, here are three pieces of advice from Seldow:

1. It's all about the teaching and learning. Don't rush into spending leftover budget funds on the newest flavor-of-the-week device. Do some research on what device will provide an extension of your learning environment, and prepare extensively before the deployment.

2. Transparency matters. Do your best to make all of your information about teaching, learning, and technology available to the parents of your students and any other stakeholders. The more your empower people with information, the fewer surprises you are likely to face.

3. Use technology to remove barriers. It's counter-productive to use technology for the sake of technology. Make it something that blends in with the learning environment and is a natural fit. As Seldow said, "Reducing barriers increases opportunities for learning when the teacher isn't there."

Also see

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32,000 Chromebooks: How a Virginia school system bet on Google's PC platform

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Virginia's Chesterfield County Schools recently announced that it will launch the largest education deployment of Chromebooks to date. Here's what you can learn from it. As Chromebooks gain serious traction in the education market, schools are beginning to work through massive deployments of Google's cloud-based laptops.

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Chromebook website for school district of Chesterfield County (VA) 

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Chromebook website for school district of Chesterfield County (VA) 

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Chesterfield County Public Schools, Virginia explains how it scales up Blended Learning to middle school and high school students by providing students with their own Chromebook laptop computer