Student Reviews of the HP 11 Chromebook

Leyden Community High School District 212 is currently in its second year of being a fully 1:1 district where all 3,500 students get issued a Chromebook.  Being one of the first three districts in the country to adopt Chromebooks for a 1:1 teaching and learning environment has come with both numerous rewards and challenges.  I suppose being an early adopter of anything puts you in that boat.  At the time we made our decision, the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook was the only option.  Since then, a number of new devices have hit the scene.  The Leyden leadership teams have just recently started discussions about when and how to refresh our devices.  In order to make well informed decisions, I have begun obtaining some of the new Chromebook models to test out.  I then turn them over to a couple of our students from our Tech Support Internship (TSI) classes to use as their primary device for a week.  I plan on posting their reviews on this blog. We'll start with the HP 11.

Student 1 - An East Leyden Junior

My name is Bryn and I am a Junior at East Leyden High School.  I am also a first year student in the Technical Support Internship course.  Last week, I was approached by Mr. Jason Markey, East Leyden’s Principal, and Mr. Bryan Weinert, the Director of Technology, about testing the new HP Chromebook 11. To do this, I used the HP Chromebook 11 for one full week in all my classes in place of my usual Samsung Chromebook Series 5.  The results could not be finer.

The first thing I noticed is that the HP Chromebook is extremely fast.  I tested the HP and the Samsung Chromebook side by side and visited a variety of websites.  The load time was much faster on the HP Chromebook than it was on the Samsung Chromebook.   I also did a side by side comparison of the HP Chromebook and a desktop computer in the TSI classroom.  Again, the load time on the HP Chromebook was much faster.

The second thing I evaluated was the keyboard and trackpad.  Compared to the Samsung Chromebook, the keyboard on the HP Chromebook is more slick and provides a smoother typing experience.  The trackpad is more responsive and does not freeze like the Samsung trackpad does.

When compared to the Samsung Chromebook, the screen on the HP Chromebook is more hi-res and is better in image and quality.  The sound quality is very crisp and as the volume increases, the sound does not get distorted or muffled.  The device is lighter, smaller, and seems more durable, particularly with regards to the charging port.

There are two features on the HP Chromebook 11 that stand out: the fan and the LCD lights. There is no fan because the processor does not require one.  The LED lights on the front face of the Chromebook lights up when powered on.  This adds a cool feature to an already sleek looking device.

I was disappointed with one aspect of the device: the battery life.  On an average day, with the Samsung Chromebook, I use approximately 50% of the battery.  With the HP Chromebook, I used at least 75% of the battery during my normal school day & activities.  This is concerning since batteries lose their charge life as time goes on.  The one positive with regards to charging is that the HP Chromebook uses a micro-usb port.  This means that you can use a traditional phone charger to charge the device if needed.

As my final conclusion, I prefer the HP Chromebook 11 over the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 due to it’s fast speed, keyboard/touchpad performance and sleek look.

Update: On Wednesday, November 13th, Best Buy & Amazon pulled all their HP Chromebook 11’s from their shelves.  Rumor has it that the charging ports were overheating.

Student 2 - A West Leyden Senior

My name is Antonio and I am a Senior at West Leyden High School.  I got the opportunity to test out an HP Chromebook 11 for a week.  The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook served as a paradigm for comparison.  My job was to use the HP as my primary device in every one of my classes as I would with the Samsung.

When it was first handed to me, I quickly noticed the difference in weight and size.  The HP was noticeably lighter than the Samsung and slightly smaller.  Although probably not as important, I liked the white and blue colors and so did my classmates.  I got reactions like, “Wow! That’s a Chromebook?” and, “I wish we had those.”  I thought white could be a good color that is stylish and not depressing.  Of course, that is just my opinion.

After about one minute (as some of my classmates stared behind me), the HP booted and logged in.  Things looked the same except for one important thing: the screen.  It was a glossy, high-definition screen without a glossy bezel like the Samsung’s bezel which can peel off.  It showed darker hues and bolder blacks.

I tested the webcam to see how it looked.  It seemed to display darker colors but blurry motion.  Compared to the Samsung, I preferred the Samsung webcam.

Along with good graphics, good audio was produced by the HP.  The speakers seemed to be placed differently so that the sound was projected upward through the keyboard instead of downward to the desk like the Samsung which produced muffled sounds.  The HP also sounded louder and clearer: almost twice as loud as the Samsung.

The responsiveness of the keyboard and trackpad were very similar to the Samsung, but the trackpad felt more “clicky.”  The size and spacing of these parts were excellent.

As I looked at the exterior of the HP, I found no Video In/Out port or SD card port.  We rarely have the need to use these ports, much less the latter, so I doubt this would cause problems.  If the need arises, though, students can share the assignment with the teacher to run it through the teacher’s device and through the projector; a USB flash drive can be used in lieu of an SD card.

Throughout the trial, I accessed websites and webpages that I normally did.  The HP seemed to access web pages more slowly than the Samsung, but the HP loaded individual elements more quickly.  For example, when I tried accessing YouTube videos, the Samsung would get to youtube.com faster, but the HP would load the videos, thumbnails and comments faster.

It is sturdier and will withstand damage that the Samsung is more vulnerable to.  Among these is the curse of the broken charging port.  Because the type of charger is shorter and firmer, it is not likely to break or damage the charging port.  The charger also fits Android smartphones, so that could be a sort of reminder for students to charge their Chromebook after they charge their beloved phones.  The HP had basically the same battery life as the Samsung.


Overall from what I have experienced, I think the HP is better than the Samsung.  It is smaller, but it does not feel cluttered or tight.  It has less ports, but they are not imperative.  It runs Chrome OS, and it does it better than the Samsung.  I recommend this device for 1:1 at Leyden.

Bring Back the Google Menu Bar

By now, most Google Apps users have had their black menu bars removed and replaced with the new Google App Launcher (here's a great video overview by the Google Gooru).

 

I, personally, have already become accustomed to the new App Launcher and don't mind it at all.  I may even start to like it soon.  If you, however, absolutely cannot function without the black menu bar, check out the Proper Menubar extension for Chrome.  It provides you with a similar version of the original Google menu bar with quick links to most of your Google tools.  It does not include links to your domain/marketplace apps.

You can even go into the extension's options and configure which links are included in your menu bar, which websites it appears on, and the background color.

Enjoy!

Google Chrome Presentation from TechCon 2013

Here is the slide deck I used during my presentation about Google Chrome during TechCon 2013 on Friday, October 18, 2013.

VoiceThread For All at Leyden

A few Leyden teachers have been effectively using VoiceThread with their students for a couple years and, with our evolution into a 1:1 district last year, word has been spreading fast and many other teachers have expressed interest in utilizing this tool.  After consulting our department chairs, we learned there was enough interest to warrant a district license.  As of today, all Leyden teachers and students have access to VoiceThread.  Since we already use Google Apps for Education, VoiceThread seamlessly integrates as a domain app that shows up in the Google More menu along with the other tools we have installed.

Since all of our students have Chromebooks, once they log into their device they are already logged into their Google Apps account and clicking on VoiceThread from the MORE menu does not require any additional authentication.  Single sign on is a beautiful thing!

So, what is VoiceThread anyway?  Basically, it's an online tool that allows you to upload many different types of media, such as images, videos, documents, and presentations into an online format that allows for group conversations.  Those you share your VoiceThreads with can leave comments via text, audio recording, webcam, and even text messages.  In addition, the doodle feature allows those making comments to draw directly on the media.  For more into, play the embedded VoiceThread below.

I'd love to hear more about how VoiceThread is being used both here at Leyden and at other schools.  Please comment on this post to share your VoiceThread enhanced activities.

Manage non-Google Assignments in Teacher Dashboard

Yesterday, while cruising up I-57 back from the University of Illinois in Champaign after presenting at the AdvancEd conference, Jason Markey (@JasonMMarkey) started up a conversation that began with his now famous "I have an idea..."  In this case, it was more like "I really wish..."  Basically, we were talking about how well Teacher Dashboard has been working for us at Leyden and Jason was suggesting how great it would be if our teachers could also manage assignments involving non-Google Apps tools in TD.  I reminded him about my digital dropbox idea which uses a single Google Form to collect the URL's of each non-Google project.  While he agreed that method was working for some teachers, it still required them to leave Teacher Dashboard and did not provide an easy method for providing the students with feedback without utilizing some scripts.  After a little brainstorming, here's an idea I came up with.

• Teachers could create a Google Doc template (text or spreadsheet) for an activity/project/assignment that involves a tool other than Google Docs or Blogger, which are currently managed in Teacher Dashboard (i.e. Glogster, VoiceThread, Themeefy, YouTube, WeVideo, etc.).  By the way, I'm a huge proponent for assigning an objective to students and letting them pick their own way of demonstrating their learning (see Student Choice Leads to Creativity).
• The template should include at least a spot for the students to paste in the URL of their products, but could also include things like a rubric, project check list, reference list, etc.
• Teachers would then use the Smart Copy tool in Teacher Dashboard to push out the template to each student.  This automatically creates an individual copy of the template in each students' appropriate subject folder in their Google Drive with edit rights for the teacher.  And, of course, the teacher gets to control the name of these documents.
• Teachers can then use the filter option when viewing their class in Teacher Dashboard to view just the links to each specific activity/project/assignment document.  By opening each document, the teacher would be able to see the link to the student's product, add notes or comments, possibly add grades, check off items in a check list, and other options for interacting with the student throughout the process of the activity/project/assignment.

I'd be very interested to hear from anyone that tries out this idea to learn how it works for you and/or how it can be improved.

Get Animated Images Created For You By Google+

In case you missed the news about the Auto Awesome feature roll-out in Google+ a while back, if you upload a series of photos taken in succession (at least 5) into Google+, Auto Awesome will automatically stitch the photos into a repeating animation.  You can turn Auto Awesome on/off in your Google+ settings:

Here's the first one I created of my 2-year old dancing in our kitchen.

In addition to creating motion images, there are four other Auto Awesome features:  HDR, Smile, Pano, and Mix.  You can read more about them here.  Enjoy!

Searching - One of the most important skills you need to learn today

Today, just about anything you want to learn is available at your fingertips.  The key is knowing how to effectively and efficiently find what you're looking for and validate that it's accurate information.  The search tools and apps are becoming more sophisticated by the day, but there are still searching strategies and tips that everyone should know to help improve your results and get to the answers you seek.  We all occasionally complain that we don't have enough time, so better searching should help you acquire a few more precious moments in your day.

Better searching could also save you from making a big mistake....

Or save the day in a tight pinch...

Or make you a hero with your kids...

Or even land you that dream job...

While these examples are fun, often times the problem you are trying to solve or the research you are trying to gather requires you to dig deeper than the first hits you get from a simple search.  I believe that searching should be taught or reviewed in every class, regardless of grade level, at the beginning of each year.  Heck, I'd even go so far as to say that we should consider making it part of high school graduation requirements in some way.  Maybe one day.  Until then, there are lots of opportunities to improve your searching skills on your own.  For many, including me, the search engine of choice is Google and there are two phenomenal self-paced courses that you can take at any time to help you learn the power searching skills you need.  Even if you don't want to go through the courses, the brief videos would still be worth your time to watch.  I strongly recommend that you check them out at http://www.powersearchingwithgoogle.com/.