While not necessarily a remote learning issue, teachers sometimes need help with the technology side of things when it comes to teaching. Computers are becoming an everyday part of the classroom as of late, and that comes with a slew of different problems. In most public schools where computers are relevant to the classroom, students may use Chromebooks. 

Chromebooks are unique because they are primarily utilized for web-searching and minor app usage. In today’s blog post, we thought it would be helpful for teachers, students, and just about anyone who uses Chromebooks to get some quick fixes for some mild, common issues that may arise when using these devices.

 

FROZEN SCREENS

The first common issue that we decided to discuss was a common phenomenon of ‘screen locking’ or ‘screen freezing’. We’ve all been there: working on a classroom assignment or project when suddenly the screen locks in place and you can’t move anything on your screen. Tabs lock in place, you can’t interact with anything on the monitor, and all you have access to is the physical buttons on the Chromebook. 

While it can be initially confusing, there is a quick fix for this common problem:

Step 1: Press the Power & Refresh button (the one that looks like a circular arrow)

Step 2: Wait for your Chromebook to reboot.

Step 3: Log in to your Chromebook

Optional Step 4: When reopening Google Chrome, you may select the option to Restore Tabs. This is a very helpful option if your device froze during a lesson or if you had specific tabs open for important reasons.

CHROMEVOX

Another problem similar to Screen freezing is Chromevox, but Chromevox is a built-in screen reader that can open when students, say, press a specific series of  keys on their keyboards (accidentally) and cause it to open. 

This tool can be very useful for those who need to navigate their chromebooks with verbal instruction from the device. The confusion here is that a lot of people don’t really know how to discontinue this option once it is activated. 

To identify if Chromevox is active or not, you will most likely hear a voice speaking on your device and your screen may look something like this: 

As you can see in the picture, there is an orange box around the search bar on the Google Homepage. This means that whatever is typed in that box will be read aloud by the computer.

Here is the magic solution:

Press Ctrl+Alt+Z

That’s it! Easy peasy!

 

AUDIO ISSUES

Sometimes there can be some problems when using programs like Zoom, Google Meets, etc. and it can be troublesome getting audio to work. It may be that the audio isn’t playing at all on the programs, or it could be that the computer is not picking up your sound from the Chromebook’s microphone. That being said, here are a series of troubleshoots you can try to work on your Chromebook’s audio. 

If you are in a Google Meet or Zoom Meeting and are having microphone or speaker issues, you may need to enable your microphone or speakers for the particular source you are using. You can do this by checking your audio settings on your Chromebook. 

First Troubleshooting Tip – Check that your Microphone is enabled

Step 1: Click the three vertical dots in the top right corner of your Chrome window.

Step 2: Select Settings.

Step 3: In the search bar at the top of the screen, type Site Settings and press Enter.

Step 4: Once you are in the Site Settings, scroll down and select Microphone.

Step 5: When you are in the Microphone settings, you can see which sites are allowed and which sites are blocked. Make sure the site you are trying to use is allowed.

 

Second Troubleshooting Tip – Check Audio Input & Output settings

Step 1: Click the bottom right corner of your screen where the time is displayed.

Step 2: A black box will pop up. Locate the Audio icon near the bottom of the black box. Make sure the audio level is set to a high level.

Step 3: If it is set to an acceptable level and you still can’t hear anything, Click the bullet arrow to the right of the Audio slider. This will take you to the Input and Output options.

Step 4: Make sure those levels are acceptable. (Quick Tip! If your Chromebook is connected to an external monitor, make sure the audio is selected to go through your Chromebook, and not the monitor. This will help you hear things as well.)

 

If neither of these tips solves your audio issue, you can test the audio on your computer by opening the camera app on your device and recording a short video. If there is no audio in the video playback, you may have a hardware issue with your microphone and it may need to be looked at by a Technician. 

 

SCREENSHOTS
Finally, if this blog does not help with a particular issue that you might have with your Chromebook, you can utilize the screenshot function when trying to ask a tech assistant on additional aid. Attaching a screenshot of the problem to an email you send can greatly affect the effectiveness of any tech assistants that will work on fixing your issue.

There are two ways to take a screenshot on a Chromebook:

 

Take a general screenshot of the entire screen.

Step 1: Press Ctrl + screenshot key

Take a screenshot of a specific area of your screen.

Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + screenshot key

Are you having other challenges with your Chromebook? Reach out to us! We may be able to assist!

With the globalized pandemic forcing schools to go into a remote class environment, it can be quite difficult for all of us to catch up with the technology. There is a great amount of pressure and stress that gets put on teachers and professors to catch up to this new teaching style.

Many educators believe that technology might just be out of their area of expertise, but there are tools out there that can make school a lot easier for not only them, but their students.

Our goal here at Tech Tips for Teachers is to present some of these technologies in a casual, user friendly way that hopefully helps educators adapt into their remote-learning experiences. Every week, we will try to address a different part of the online classroom and talk about tools that can be used to work around different issues or complications provoked by online schooling.

Some resources we will explore and cover throughout this blog are:

• Benefits to embracing technology in the classroom
• Tech Resources for Special Education Classrooms
• Chromebook troubleshooting & other awesome tips for educators and parents
• Creating a Bitmoji Classroom
• EdPuzzle
• Ideas for parents helping their kids with online school work from home
• Google Slides Tips & Tricks
• And more!

Educators will get the opportunity to learn about new apps, websites, and strategies that they can use to expand past their limited capabilities on school websites. Additionally, we can help inform educators and parents about what students are looking for in an online learning environment so they can learn how to meet those needs accordingly. 

On top of user guides and tutorials, we will have polls and questionnaires answered by real educators to give us an opportunity to address the real issues in the online learning space. 

Get to know us!

We are Laura, Daniel, & Brenna! 

 

• Laura is the district technology assistant for Pine City Public Schools in Minnesota. She also directs theater for North Branch High School and is going to school to get her teaching license with a specialty in Library Media and Technology Integration. 

 

 

 

 

 

• Brenna is the social media specialist for the Rogers Senior High School DECA chapter, as well as the social media specialist for her local Sammy’s Pizza.

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Daniel is a remote writing coach for the SCSU ‘Write Place’ writing center. He is also a senior in his English Studies Degree and an avid user of computers. He enjoys helping students use online technologies.

 

 

 

 

 

While we may not be educators yet, asking people that are can help us understand their perspective. Once we know this perspective, we can offer additional aid in something we know: tech. 

So come on in! We are excited to share our passion with you!