We Are Go for Start-up!

First time holding their Chromebooks!

WAHOOOOO! With eager and tight-gripping hands, the kiddos held their laptops for the first time today! As they watched me apply numbered labels to each one and stack them in piles at the front of the room, the energy level rose in the room. After picking these precious tools up in a nice, orderly fashion, the students filed over to the reading rug to take this picture; I could barely get them to hold still long enough to snap the shot. Here, they are saying, "I'm so HAPPPPPYYYYY!"

As soon as Mrs. Brucker's photo session was over, they walked their computers back to their desks and opened the lids for the first time... *GASP*! They marveled over the way they just magically started up, and were equally wowed by how fast they were ready to use. Everyone signed in to their Google accounts, selected a temporary profile picture, and waited patiently for instructions. The first thing we did was to take the "Getting Started" tour. We learned about how to use the trackpad (the two-finger right click was awesome, as was the click and drag feature), and how to store files, among other things. We launched Gmail (they were shocked that they already had email accounts), and I had them send me their first email so that I could get them all added into my Contacts and put in a group.

The students' first email with their D2 accounts!

In other exciting news, I figured out (with Evan's help) how to use the HDMI cable to project my Chromebook up onto the board with my Casio projector! If I select "Make Primary" when the projector appears as a monitor, I can just drag the window over to the side, and the projector acts as a second monitor. I was not able to get it to mirror what I can see on my screen, but at least I was able to model for the students up on the big screen! I will continue to play with this; Desiree mentioned in a Google+ thread that she found an adapter for less than $20, so that may be the better way to go.