Netbooks
Set up for online work only
Good for online website work (Study Island, Accelerated Reader, Google Drive, etc.)
Not enough disk space for usual desktop software (Microsoft Word, etc.) and most don't actually have Word installed
Make it easy on yourself with a Teacher Website or Online Bookmarking
Recommended for 3 reasons:
Instant Updating!
Don't have to handle all the laptops for every new site
Don't have to depend on student typing to navigate to new sites
Webpage: Mr Rosa 2
Deep Freeze Bookmarks/Mobiles Start Page: See How-to Video
Google Document: La Colima
Bookmarking Service: PortaPortal
Basics
The netbooks should only be used with the printer that came with the cart.
Battery life varies by model. Make a policy of plugging in each netbook (and the cart) to re-charge after each use.
Best for use with online word processing, i.e., Google Docs/Apps
Google Docs makes more sense for implementation with upper grades: 3rd grade and up
A simple presentation on getting your students signed in to EWCSD Google Docs
One option--focus the use of the cart on these grades and allow more time for primary classes with an existing lab or full-size laptop cart
For teachers who are interested in using Google Docs but would like a little help, Cliff is happy to give in-services or co-teach lessons to help get the ball rolling.
Sometimes installed is Open Office for Kids, a rather glitchy word processing application, for practice use only
I've not had good experiences with the Open Office. I believe it will be eliminated from future netbook images.
Work should not be kept (i.e. saved for later) on the netbooks--very limited disk space.
Newer netbooks (after ~Summer 2012) have Deep Freeze installed. This means that they will erase and reset the laptop to a predefined "frozen" image upon restart. Please see my Deep Freeze Bookmarks video to see how to set shortcuts for your students.
Each school should set up a schedule/plan for the use of the cart. Limited and focused is better than broad and shallow usage.