Chromebooks 101 - Get to know 1 thing

I often hear teachers say that they are intimidated by technology because there are so many things to know.  Yes there are, but, by the same logic, there are so many people in the world so I should be a recluse.  Get to know one thing and try that out.  Trying one thing might peak your interest and get you into trying other things with the chromebooks or your students might ask to try something out that you can watch and learn.

My suggestion for the 1 thing is Google Docs.  Google Docs is a lot like Microsoft Word and Pages which are pretty universal.  So if you have a set of chromebooks, go ahead and play around with Google docs and check some things out.  If you want, play around with the doc that I have attached to this post.  Once you open it, make sure to click on File and then Make a Copy so you will be able to edit it.

Google Docs Training Document

As a trainer I like to get teachers working with Google docs right away.  Teachers play through the training document, ask questions that pertain to their content areas, and force me to cover things that I had planned to cover anyways.

Once I get them going on docs, they always start asking me about Google Slides, Google Classroom, and anything else that they can use in their classroom.  The teachers I have trained this way begin implementing Google docs as soon as possible.  They are both confident in what students can do and their content knowledge extends the applications of Google Docs in ways I would have never thought.  Attached is the document that I share with teachers new to Google drive and Google Docs.  Please feel free to make a copy and use it.  My only request, if you find a way to make it better, please let me know and share the document back with me.  I would appreciate it.

Google Docs Training Document