In 2021, almost every student and teacher has a digital device to keep on top of schoolwork or plan lessons. One of the most popular devices for students and teachers is Chromebooks.
According to a study published on EdSurge, around 56 percent of teachers reported that their students were using Chromebooks during the pandemic, and many school districts have invested in Chromebooks for school-wide use.
However, despite having access to them, many teachers struggle to make use of Chromebooks in the classroom. This is often due to a lack of ideas of how to use them, and a lack of a screen mirroring solution that can help them seamlessly share their Chromebook screen with the class.
In this article, we’ll provide some unique and engaging ways to use Chromebooks in the classroom, and we’ll provide details about how a screen mirroring solution can help teachers make the most out of them and increase the school’s return on investment.
9 Engaging Ways to Make Use of Chromebooks in the Classroom
Many students have access to Chromebooks, but it can be hard for teachers to develop ways to include them in lessons. Here are 9 fun and engaging ways to make use of Chromebooks in the classroom
1. Create video and slideshow presentations
Slideshows and presentation software have been around for a long time, but many teachers still prefer to use them to write down notes and share class materials.
Why?
The answer is simple, sometimes using technology in the classroom can be inconvenient.
However, with a Chromebook, teachers have tons of ways to create interesting and engaging presentations to share with their students.
Apps like Prezi can create animated presentations that are much more interesting than the average slideshow. And, by pairing a Chromebook with a wireless screen mirroring solution, teachers can quickly and easily mirror their screen to present it to the whole class on a central display.
Related: [How to Use Tablets in the Classroom]
2. Play interactive games with your students
Most students these days spend a lot more time playing digital games than reading or playing physically with friends. As a result, adding a gaming element to your lessons can help students engage with the lesson and learn more on their own terms.
Apps like ClassDojo can be used to gamify the learning experience. Students can play digital games and complete quizzes on Chromebooks individually, or you can use screen mirroring software to project quizzes and games onto a larger display so the students can all play together. Some screen mirroring solutions also enable students to work in groups of four and share their work on their own group display.
Playing digital games is a great way to bring students out of their shells and make the whole learning experience more fun for both the student and the teacher.
3. Go on digital field trips
In the pandemic era, taking students on field trips is not always possible, but that doesn’t mean they should miss out on meaningful educational experiences and cultural events. Thankfully, if your students use Chromebooks in the classroom, they can visit and explore exciting locations across the globe without leaving their seats.
For example, digital resources like Google Arts and Culture lets students explore art galleries, museums, and more from their devices. You can either allow students to explore on their personal devices or use a Chromebook and screen mirroring software to make it an experience for the whole class to enjoy together.
4. Assign students to create and share their digital presentations
If you have access to more than one Chromebook in the classroom, it’s good to assign students projects to complete digitally. If you plan on assigning students a presentation task, encourage students to use digital tools like Prezi, PowerPoint, and Canva to create modern and engaging work.
Once your students are ready to present, simply allow them to share their screen with the class using a screen mirroring device. You can also provide feedback throughout the process by viewing the student’s work from your own device. Using Chromebooks can make simple presentations tasks more fun for students to complete and easier for teachers to track and grade.
5. Get students to work on video projects
Chromebooks can be used to edit and record video content, and this can be a fun way to get your students making the most of the devices. Instead of asking your students to create a text-based assignment, why not use Chromebooks to create video content instead?
This will help students learn more about the topics they’re studying and use essential tech skills that will help them in later life. Once your students have completed their video projects, you can also use Chromebooks and screen mirroring software to share them with the class on the central display. Video projects are a great way to use all the apps and features Chromebooks have to offer.
6. Explore the world digitally
In this day and age, you don’t have to leave the classroom to explore new locations around the world. If you’re keen to teach your students more about other cultures, use Chromebooks to visit interesting locations around the globe digitally.
You can use apps like Google Earth to explore faraway lands and use YouTube videos to learn more about the people who live there. It’s an entertaining and interesting way to use Chromebooks to enrich your student’s learning experience. Whether you use screen mirroring to explore with the whole class or assign students to explore locations individually and share what they’ve learned, it’s sure to make for an engaging and informative lesson.
7. Use Chromebooks for note-taking
If you have a Chromebook for each of your students, you can also encourage them to take notes digitally.
Making digital notes can help students when it comes to revision as their notes will be neat and easy to read. They can also get creative with their notes and add relevant images and animations that will help them remember salient information.
If you have a screen mirroring solution, students can also use their devices to take screenshots of the teacher’s screen. That way, they can have their copy of the class materials, and use it to make their own digital notes and annotations.
8. Create quizzes and assessments digitally
Students may not love working on assessments, but with Chromebooks, you can make the work more exciting and engaging. Using apps and tools like Kahoot!, you can create fun quizzes and assessments to test your student’s knowledge without making them nervous or stressed.
Digital assessments also make it easy to record test scores as all the scores can be reviewed within apps once the assessments are complete, which means less time spent grading for teachers. Also, if you want to make assessments more casual, you can complete quizzes as a class by projecting them from your device to whiteboards and flat-panel displays, for instance.
9. Use Chromebooks to incentivize learning
Students love to use technology in the classroom, and you can utilize this passion to encourage students to work harder and behave well. For example, when the students have worked hard on their assignments, you can reward them by letting them use Chromebook freely for a short period of time.
You can also use gamification apps like ClassDojo to reward students with digital merit points for homework, classwork, and behavior. Another great idea is to share your screen with the class to praise students that have worked hard and display the digital merit scoreboard for the week.
Related: [7 Best Interactive Classroom Technology Tools & How to Use Them Effectively]
How Screen Mirroring Software Can Help You Get the Most Use Out of Chromebooks in the Classroom
To make the most out of the use of Chromebooks in the classroom, teachers and students need to collaborate digitally efficiently. Screen mirroring software is the solution for this. Here’s how screen mirroring can help teachers and students using Chromebooks.
Students and Teachers can share their screens
If students and teachers are using different devices within the classroom, it’s essential for teachers to have an efficient way to share and mirror screens to track student progress and work on group projects.Screen mirroring devices that are device agnostic are the best choice for this so that students and teachers using a range devices can all make use of the technology.
By choosing a screen mirroring solution purpose-built for education, you benefit from features that allow teachers and students to share their screens.
Wireless screen sharing means you can have up to four Chromebooks connected to the big display at one time, and in just a few clicks, teachers can allow different students to connect and share.
Teachers can provide immediate feedback
Screen mirroring solutions can help teachers do much more than just share their personal screens with the class. It can also help them to view students screens so that they can give verbal feedback to them when they are working individually on their own Chromebooks.
This is an essential feature for teachers as it means that they won’t have to roam around the classroom and look at each device to see what the students are up to. They can simply ask the student to share their screen, review the work and add comments. Teachers can even ask a student to present their work and encourage the class to discuss and provide peer feedback.
Students can screenshot teachers screens and make notes and annotations
As we mentioned above, taking notes is a great way to use Chromebooks in the classroom, but without screen mirroring technology, it’s inefficient for teachers to share digital class materials with students.
With a good screen mirroring solution, students will easily view the teacher’s screen on their own devices and take a screenshot for their own notes. They can then make any additions or revisions to these notes.
It’s the most affordable option for schools
Without a screen mirroring solution, teachers have to rely on HDMI cables to share their screens with students, which is enough to put many teachers off. Not only does a wireless screen sharing solution help school IT teams save money purchasing expensive and unreliable cables, but it also encourages teachers to optimize the use of the Chromebooks, which increases the school’s return on investment.
We Can Help You Choose the Perfect Screen Mirroring Solution for Your School
If you’re looking to use Chromebooks in the classroom, it’s essential to have an efficient way for teachers and students to share their screens with the class.
Wireless screen sharing is the most seamless and affordable solution for this. It allows teachers to make digital devices like Chromebooks a core part of their lesson planning without worrying about technical issues or logistics.
If you want to know more about using screen mirroring software in an educational setting, be sure to reach out to our support team at Vivi to request a demo. Vivi offers a screen mirroring solution designed with educators and students in mind, and it can help you to integrate Chromebooks and other digital devices into your classroom more easily. Click here to visit the Vivi website and find out more.
