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Chromebooks improve learning at middle school

Students issued take-home computers

By Scott Bellile


Fifth through eighth grade students are enhancing their educations by having their own take-home laptops, according to New London Intermediate/Middle School educators.

Two years after New London High School began assigning a Google Chromebook to every student, the middle school followed suit at the start of the 2018-19 school year.

Three educators presented the successes and challenges that came with expanding the 1-to-1 device initiative to their school during a Jan. 14 New London School Board meeting.

“The Chromebook itself, the device, was not a new concept for our students and staff. We’ve had carts of Chromebooks in the building in a variety of numbers since around 2013,” said Katie Kovalaske, New London Intermediate/Middle School’s instructional resource coach. “But one reason we did decide to take the next step and bring 1-to-1 at our level is … because of logistics, students didn’t have access to a device necessarily in all of their classes.”

The Chromebook carts used to be kept in the English language arts and mathematics classrooms, so arrangements had to be made for science and social studies classes to use the devices, seventh grade ELA teacher Kristin Gustafson said.

By the 2017-18 school year, the school owned enough Chromebooks to switch from carts to a 1-to-1 device initiative. The middle school established a technology committee to plan for the fall 2018 1-to-1 rollout and establish guidelines for handling the devices and using them appropriately at school and at home.

From left moving clockwise, New London Intermediate/Middle School students Andric Bayerl, Nickolas Ploederl, Brayden Dorsey and Mason Handschke use their Chromebook laptops in Patty Grossman’s sixth grade mathematics class on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
Photo courtesy of Katie Kovalaske

Five hundred students in grades six through eight learned the rules during a “boot camp” style training when they received their Chromebooks at the start of this school year, Kovalaske said.

Fifth-graders began taking their Chromebooks home in November, she said.

“Because our students obviously in fifth grade are getting used to a lot of new things, we didn’t want to overwhelm them by just throwing a Chromebook at them the first week,” Kovalaske said. “So we took the first quarter and their teachers did lessons and made sure they were comfortable with the device.”

Teachers gradually integrated the technology into their classrooms by first using Chromebooks as a substitute for completing daily tasks such as taking notes, and then eventually presenting lessons that require a Chromebook to complete.

 

Finishing homework gets easier

Prior to 1-to-1 Chromebooks, one obstacle for students was many lacked the proper technology outside of class to complete their essays or other homework, ELA teacher Jacqueline Schommer said.

In a video Kovalaske presented to the school board, students shared how they benefit from having the freedom to bring home their Chromebooks.

“It makes me feel more in control especially because I can log in to my Google Classroom to see what I have to get done, and I can check my emails and my grades a lot more easily than I could before Chromebooks,” sixth-grader Jonah Stone said.

From left moving clockwise, New London Intermediate/Middle School students Flor Avendano-Vega, Hailie Martzahl and Zahara Retzlaff use their Chromebook laptops in Patty Grossman’s sixth grade mathematics class on Tuesday, Jan. 22.

“I like using my Chromebook at home because it gives me access to resources like the subscription databases that I can use to study and finish my homework assignments,” eighth-grader Renna Amaral said.

Seventh-grader Julia Ludick said if the school went back to only offering Chromebook carts during class time, she doubts she would finish her homework on time.

One problem with using Chromebooks at home, Schommer said, is some students do not charge them there, so their computers die in class.

Those students practice finding a classroom during the school day and plugging into an outlet to reinforce the importance of charging the Chromebook at home.

“We’re trying to get them ready for bigger responsibilities, and for the majority of our kids, we are seeing positive results with that,” Gustafson added.

 

Invaluable resources to students, teachers

In class, students watch online video lessons on Chromebooks, freeing up the teacher’s time for one-on-one instruction, Schommer said.

Students can use internet add-ons to change a webpage’s reading level or offer to accommodations if they have dyslexia, Schommer said.

Students are enhancing their technology skills and seeking our resources to improve their own learning, Gustafson said.

“I think for the students, what they like most is the fact that they have more choice and autonomy in their learning,” Schommer said. “So when they’re mastering a concept, it’s not just here’s the one way you can show me you know this. There’s a plethora of [applications] they can use online from Glogster to Flipgrid to Padlet where they can show they know a new skill.”

Parents are keeping up with their children’s educations by watching them use their Chromebooks at home, Gustafson said.

“During my [parent-teacher] conferences I had a number of parents mention they’re understanding what’s going on in the class a little bit more. … They’re telling me exactly what their students are writing about, so [there is] just a ton of more parent involvement,” Gustafson said.

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