Taking the plunge: Rocky Top teachers go 1 to 1 with Chromebooks

The usual first day buzz of excitement seems amplified this year at Rocky Top Middle School in Thornton, CO.  Students pile up at the front doors of the school while they chat, laugh, and talk about their summers.  But something is distinctly different this year.  Carefully tucked under their arms is a new supply.  A supply that promises to change education forever.  It is their Chromebook.  It is their key to the world of the future.

In May of 2013, Rocky Top Middle School decided to take a giant leap towards the cutting edge of education by requiring one supply for all incoming 6th graders: a Google Chromebook.  A Chromebook is a simple laptop that connects all Google based products into a single profile that can be accessed using a variety of apps.  Since Rocky Top’s school district, Adams 12 Five Star Schools, had already adopted Gmail and Google Apps for all students and teachers, a Chromebook to house it all would become a very powerful tool.

After community meetings, district meetings, teacher meetings, and research, Rocky Top’s principal, Chelsea Behanna, set the program in motion.  Over the summer of 2013, teachers trained, administration planned, and students started getting their Chromebooks.  Teachers started transforming their classrooms into Blended Learning environments.  Administration created programs so that ALL students could have access to a Chromebook regardless of means.  A week before school started, Rocky Top offered a CAMP Grizzly program where students got their Chromebooks engraved with their names, learned how to create an account and navigate through the computer, and received a sturdy case for protection

On the first day of school the kids were bustling with excitement about their one and only required supply.  They couldn’t wait to open the top and dive into the future of learning.  The air buzzed with that feeling of something new, something important.  And the teachers couldn’t wait to watch their teaching (and endless learning) evolve throughout the year. So as the students shuffled off to their classrooms we all held our breath to see how it would work…

Follow our story on this blog as we evolve, triumph, fail, and reflect.

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Nick Schuster (Digital Literacy Coach)