6 Quick and Easy Ideas to use Fresh-Out-of-the-Box Chromebooks

So you've gotten a class set of Chromebooks. Now what?  

Check out 6 easy ideas you can take and use with students while your laptops still have that new Chromebook smell:

1. Research and Note-Taking with Google Docs:  Students research topic(s) and record notes into Google Doc to share with others or save for themselves.

2. Vocabulary Work:  Students create a Google Doc of words and research definitions, record in own words, and insert visual representations for each word.

3. Create and Share with Drawings:  Using Google Drawings, students create posters, flyers, handouts, signs, etc.  Can do solo or invite group members to a shared document.

4. Jigsaw with Google Presentations:  In small or large groups, one student creates a Google Presentation and shares with other members.  Each member is then assigned one piece of the larger puzzle to create a new slide to report back what they learned.

5. Quick Feedback / Backchannel TodaysMeet:  Create a Todaysmeet.com chat room and allow students to use space to respond to questions, reflect on presentations or videos as a group, or stage lively debates.

6. Play, Explore, and Create: Allow students to explore web apps for music/video/animation production.  Great ones to play with that are easy to get rolling:  uJam, Wevideo, Animoto, Picmonkey, and Voki.