Chromebook mania has hit Hoover

Thousands of the Google, cloud-based devices now sit in the hands of Hoover students as part of the latest installment of the school system’s 1:1 program, the Engaged Learning Initiative (ELI).

In late November, Hoover City Schools’ technology staff distributed the last of the Chromebooks to Hoover’s ten elementary schools. 

“As soon as they saw the tech coaches coming into the classroom with the Chromebooks, they were so excited. This really is a game-changer in many ways for how they will learn,” teacher Elizabeth Gilmore said.

HCS ELI project lead Alyssa Hare coordinated many aspects of the Chromebook rollout.

“We’ve put a lot of work into it. We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible on the teachers. We want to make it fun, we don’t want to make it work,” Hare said.

HCS technology integration coordinator Kelli Lane works daily with educators across Hoover City Schools. Her goal with this Google project is to drive home the usefulness of the Chromebook and its related educational applications, a process that started well before the 2013-14 school year.

“We’ve been working hard all summer on this process preparing our teachers. So what we did is we brought in a team from each school – and called them the ‘ELI facilitators.’ We worked with them all summer long on how to use the Chromebooks in their classrooms and how that can impact their kids instructionally.”

-Submitted by Hoover City Schools