FAQs
What will be provided to my student?
Secondary schools students will be assigned a Chromebook and charging cord for his or her use, and, with parent permission, the ability to take the device home.
How will this impact my student’s learning experiences?
The 1:1 program aims to provide extended access to digital tools that help students investigate, communicate, collaborate, create, model and explore concepts and content in authentic contexts.
In parallel with the 1:1 device decisions, district resources continue to migrate to digital resources. Currently, science, STEM, some world languages and some math resources are digital, with future curriculum adoptions likely to include significant digital components.
Is there any research backing the program?
Several excellent examples of using devices to support instruction are available including information from Project Red, which we are using to guide many of our implementation decisions. Littleton Schools has been acknowledged for its promising and effective use of digital technology in these publications: Learning in the Cloud and in Building 21st Century Writers.
Why Chromebooks?
- Long battery life (the device can make it through a full day of school on a single charge)
- Ease of use and low need for technical support
- Keyboard based, facilitates longer writing exercises
- Ease of access to mail, calendar and web
- Ability to manage the device for assessments, updates and content filtering
- Relatively low cost
- Students are already familiar with this technology
Can the Chromebook print?
The Chromebook, as configured in this program, is not designed to be connected to a printer. Instead, we are encouraging students to share documents online.
What are my costs to participate?
There are no costs to participate, though families do take on some responsibility should the device become lost or damaged. Please see the Responsible Use Agreement ( RUP) for more details on the family’s responsibilities should they elect to take home the device.
What rules or expectations will be set for my child?
Schools will work through the expectations for the appropriate use of the Chromebooks through classroom settings. Some of those expectations can be found in the Student Code of Conduct, found at www.littletonpublicschools.net
We are encouraging a strong partnership with parents, and encourage you to share the same practices and expectations at home.
Can my student use a personally owned device instead?
For the middle school students, we do not want students to provide their own device in replacement for a district-
provided Chromebook. There are a variety of reasons for this:
- Ability to provide technology support to the device
- Ability to “push” applications and updates to the District-owned device
- Ability to use the Chromebook for assessments
- To have a common and consistent experience for our students and teachers.
- At AHS, please see this link for more information.
How can I support healthy device use and limits at home?
We encourage families to be open with each other and to talk regularly about how the device can and will be a useful item in the household – and not one more burden.
Parents can always log in to their students Chromebooks and thereby their Google account (eMail/Documents/Presentations) by accessing the technology tab of the Parent Portal.
We encourage families to utilize Common Sense Media resources for starting and continuing high-quality conversations at home.
Some very good practices to follow for parents are to only allow students to use their Chromebooks (or personal devices, smartphones) in common spaces like the kitchen or family room. Likewise, students should NOT take the Chromebooks to their bedrooms or behind closed doors.
You will not see an increase in total homework time as a result of the take-home Chromebook, so your student should not be online past the normal time spent on homework. Also, not all homework will be online, you will still see textbooks, handouts and workbooks.
LPS has no desire to see students online past typical homework timeframes. If you have questions or concerns about the amount of time your student is spending online, please contact your school.
What about content filtering (web filtering)?
The Chromebooks have the same content filtering at home (or the library) as they do at school. Just like at school, where our teachers are actively working with students and physically monitoring what students are doing with their technology, we need parents to be involved with their student's online behaviors. No filter is 100% accurate, nor a replacement for adult supervision. For questions on how this works, please contact helpdesk[at]lps.k12.co[dot]us
On another note, if your student uses his/her LPS-issued account to sign in to a Chrome browser on a home computer, the content filtering will be applied to that browser. If you want your middle school student to have that filtered experience, just leave the student account logged in. If you do NOT want the browser filtered, then simply have the student log out of the Chrome browser of your home computers, done through the settings button.
Note that all LPS-issued Chromebooks will always have the content filter applied, as the device is always logged in. LPS has excellent cyber safety resources here. (https://staging.littletonpublicschools.net/cybersafety
Can I opt out of the program?
A family has the option to request that nightly secured storage be made available for the device at school so it does not go home. For requests beyond this, please speak to your school administrator. Students will be responsible for online assignments regardless of whether or not opt to take a device home.
Are there any low-cost options for home Internet access?
Yes, there are currently two options for low-cost internet for families who qualify:
Century Link Internet Basics - http://centurylink.com/home/internetbasics
Comcast Internet Essentials - http://www.internetessentials.com