Bring your Chromebook or you’ll regret it

The IT help desk has officially cracked the whip, we have come to a decision that when a student forgets their Chromebook for no fault but laziness they will have use everyone’s favorite device the surface tablets instead.

 

The best way to prevent using the dreaded surfaces is to be more prepared, when you get home be sure to put your Chromebook on it’s charger and remember to put it back  in your bag once you are done. For every student who is new or just doesn’t remember the quality of our old technology the surface is a inferior, slow, and frustrating piece of equipment that will make you wish you had a Chromebook. Most students have many problems with our new google system when it comes to work, however you would have trouble believing how the surface runs Microsoft on windows 8, it is an atrocity. But do not forget that this nightmare will not be forced upon you and that you can prevent it by simply being responsible.

 

3D pens back in action!

It has been a long time coming, but the 3d pens are starting to come back online.

 

 

While it’s true our 3d pens had a bit of a rocky start, now thanks to our wonderful IT team we have one ready and willing to be used and the other one is surely on the way. The 3d pens are a great tool for projects if  you want to create something without buying an expanse of materials. The 3d pens are also a great way to concept an idea if you are trying to make a large project and would like to plan it out before you start creating your masterpiece. While the 3d pens are an amazing tool you should remember that they are only a part of what makes our HCHS makerspace so spectacular, so don’t be afraid to visit if ever the need be.

Printing

Now that every student in the school has a Chromebook, you will need to print from them. The Chromebooks will now allow you to print from them directly. The Chromebooks have been set up to print through the library printers, so it is a lot easier than coming to the library, getting on a desktop and printing from there. You can also connect it to a home printer, so if there is no school, or you’re sick at home, you can still get your work done. If you don’t have a home printer, then you can ask to go to the library first thing in the morning when you get to school and print it.

Chromebooks, Chromebooks, Chromebooks.

As you all know, the school gave everyone a Chromebook this year. The Chromebooks are really helpful when it comes to school work. If you run out of time to work on stuff here at school using the Chromebook, you can always finish it at home. Sometimes, that isn’t always that easy. A lot of students are having trouble getting their Chromebooks to load on their home internet. When going from a place with WiFi to a place without it and back to WiFi, a Chromebook may take forever to reload and keep working. A little trick to that is to shut your Chromebook down and then turn it back on. It really works, I have tried it a few times and it worked very well. You can also go to your Drive, click on settings, and enable Google Docs for offline mode, that way you can still work on something if their is no WiFi. Just be sure to leave the documents open where you left off.

Having trouble with your Chromebook?

If you have received a Chromebook and are having some problems with it, come visit the IT Help Desk in the Library. Even though we are only four weeks into the school year, we have already had several Chromebooks that need to be fixed. We have had broken/cracked screens, missing or non-working keys, internet difficulties, and login problems. If you are having any of these problems, or others like getting something stuck in the ports in the sides of the laptop, or just doing weird things, come by and ask us to take a look at it. We will fix it the best we can. If we can not fix it right away, we will assign you a temporary one and try to fix it as soon as we can. We are here to help you and make sure that you are able to do what you need to get done for your classes. If you are having trouble with the WiFi, make sure you are connected to HC_CrOS. If you still can’t connect, come by to use the hotspot.

Problem Solving?

At Henry High there’s a teacher named Mr. Knust that is having his students use the schools Chromebooks to write about a time they had to solve a problem. His students are using Google Docs to type their essay, which is not that bad of an idea because next year our school is supplying every student with an HP Chromebook!

(Picture above shows a student working on his problem solving paper in the schools media center!)

The Most Courageous American

Here at Henry County High School a teacher that goes by the name of Mr. Hook is having all of his classes write about who they think the most courageous American is. Mr. Hook has rented out the library for the entire week for his students to work on their papers. The majority of his students are using Google Docs to write their paper, which isn’t that bad of an idea because HCHS is supplying every student a Chromebook next year!(The picture above shows Luke Kent working on his paper in Google Docs)

Google Sites

In Mrs. Hunt’s class we have started to make websites/web quests that are covering major wars in American history. We needed something to make are websites from and this gives templates that allow for easy access. We can choose template types that fit what we are looking for. So what me and group were given was the subject of The Cold War. Using Google sites we were able to create websites that suited the criteria for the projects and save time because we did not have to start from complete scratch.

1:1 Website

Henry County High School now has a website that describes how 1:1 will benefit and work for the school. The website contains detailed instructions for parents about insurance of the Chromebooks, several apps for students to use, and helpful tips for teachers to utilize the Chromebooks in the classroom. This information and much more can be found at: https://sites.google.com/a/henry.kyschools.us/1to1/

Thank you for your cooperation as we make our school 1:1.

No Red Ink

No Red Ink is a website kids in English classes can use to better their grammatical abilities. This site ranges from knowing the difference between words that sound the same like prejudice and prejudiced to how to arrange body paragraphs in an essay. This tool is really helpful to students, I know from personal experience. Lets just say I can’t English, as one can see by that phrase alone. However, this program has helped me get better at English, which is saying something, even my spelling abilities have gotten better.