Teaching basic literacy or beginning ESL/ESOL level adults how to use Chromebooks

Hello Colleagues,

Many adult basic skills programs and schools use Chromebooks with their adult literacy or adult ESL/ESOL students. For many of these adult learners this is their introduction to using a computer, email, the Internet, YouTube videos, apps like Google Maps, and other personal, family, education and work-related uses of digital technology.

Do you use Chromebooks? Do you have a curriculum, or a list of specific Chromebook videos that you have found useful with adults new to using technology, and to Chromebooks? If so, please  tell us what free or OER resources you use, and how you use these.

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS CoP, Integrating Technology Group

 

Comments

Chromebooks/boxes/bases/and bits are great, but there is one caveat: Google stops supporting the OS 6 1/2 years after the product is released (https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en). I learned this a couple of weeks ago when I got a message saying updates had ended and I should buy a new computer. I was able to salvage my Chromebox by upgrading the SSD and RAM and installing Linux, but most people don't have that skill set. As long as you have a decent Internet connection, you can do pretty much everything most people need to do with a computer on a Chrome device. Before you buy on, however, find the model number, use a search engine to find the release date, and add 6 1/2 years to find the expiration date. If you can live with that date, go ahead and buy it.

I also recommend getting 4GB of RAM.

On a Chromebook, the Chrome browser is more or less the operating system. For a beginner, learning how to use a Chromebook is learning how to use the Chrome browser. Here's a tutorial on the basics. It doesn't cover things like signing on to the Internet, and you need to skip over the parts about downloading Chrome and making it the default browser, but it does cover the basics.

https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/chrome/

This link isn't in tutorial format, but it has some useful tips on using the Chromebook itself: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UPqRHYt5BmDIslkCk0scnvn-3yOqAnvl/view

If you're looking for something like a Northstar for Chromebooks, there doesn't seem to be anything like that out there. Amazon does have a book called Essential Chromebook: The Illustrated Guide to Using Chromebook. (https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Chromebook-Illustrated-Guide-Using/dp/1911174827/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2VV1TRCFB3TB5&keywords=chromebook+for+dummies&qid=1566988595&s=books&sprefix=chromebook+for+%2Cstripbooks%2C141&sr=1-2) From the table of contents in the preview, it seems comprehensive and the excerpts are easy to read. The Kindle version is only $4.49. Amazon also has a Kindle Cloud Reader app that can be installed in the Chrome browser, so it's possible to read it on a Chromebook.

Here's a recommendation Amazon sent me. This one is even more detailed and might be of use to an instructor using Chromebooks in a classroom. The Kindle version is $4.95.

https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-ChromeBook-Illustrated-Guide-Computer/dp/1791643760?pf_rd_p=387d50eb-83f8-4221-a708-8a1575a4a151&pd_rd_wg=LY3QI&pf_rd_r=36CT2T5WVBJN0NVK5AG1&ref_=pd_gw_cr_simh&pd_rd_w=eYaAE&pd_rd_r=fba88170-d4eb-406f-8628-05ae27ed4efe

We are just about to roll out a classroom set of 20 chromebooks to use in all our ESL/ESOL classes - Beginning, Intermediate, and advanced levels. We are looking to use the computers and the technology as a springboard to new vocabulary, pronunciation--as well as a way to prepare learners to be more tech savvy employees with greater options for employment. I will keep you posted as to how it goes.  We are having a bit of a hiccup rolling them out as our adults don't have  district email address needed to log in to our access points, so code is being written to allow these non-district email addresses to be able to log on to our secure network.  They are concerned about security.  I would love to hear other ideas for technology implementation through Chromebooks or otherwise.

 

Kip

Thanks Kip. Do please let us know how it goes in using chromebooks with your ESL/ESOL students, for example: what video instruction resources, lesson plans, and approaches you are hoping to find, what you have found that has worked well for your students, and what the challenges have been.

David J. Rosen