We're wrapping up the process of rolling out Chromebooks through our middle school (5th - 8th grade), and throughout the process I've heard a lot of talk about how teachers are worried that they won't know how to use Chromebooks. At first I didn't understand what the problem was, I mean it's just a laptop that's based in the cloud, right? After talking to people and listening to their concerns, I realized that a lot of people don't quite understand "the cloud" and think that Chromebooks are going to be some new type of technology that they're going to have to master. Aside from the main difference that there isn't a hard drive and that you have to use some sort of cloud based storage e.g. Google Drive, or Drop Box, there really isn't much difference in how you use the device compared with the laptop computers that we've been using with our students for years now.
Along with the need to share tips and tricks about new technology with teachers in my building and throughout the rest of the district, I've also found that there are a lot of shortcuts that I commonly use that other teachers never knew about (I guess working in the business world before becoming a teacher has some advantages) which brings me to the point of this post. This first infographic covers some basic keyboard shortcuts that work on all types of laptops as well as on Chromebooks; I created it using Piktochart. I plan on following this post up with more helpful hints in using Chromebooks in your classroom.
OR 