Tag Archives: Education

The next generation of women in coding

Women of color make upless than 10 percent of all Bachelor's degrees earned in computing in the U.S. Peta-Gay Clarke and Shameeka Emanual are working to help change that. As program managers of Google’s Code Next program, they’re using their tech careers to give young women more access to computer science. Today, they’re announcing the sponsorship of a new Women of Color in Tech scholarship.

I recently had the chance to talk to Peta-Gay and Shameeka to learn about the women who’ve inspired them and how, in turn, they hope to inspire the next generation.

What interested you in a technology career?

Peta-Gay: My grandmother was a Jamaican immigrant and even though she didn’t know much about computers, she walked into Radio Shack in the 1990s and put a computer on layaway. A year later, she surprised my sister and me with it on Christmas. This gift both turned me into our family’s tech support and sparked my interest in technology. Later on, I transferred into a computer science program at my high school in Queens, which changed my life. I learned how to build and repair computers and was introduced to computer programming.

Shameeka: I grew up as a cheerleader and band nerd who was eligible for free lunch — I knew technology would be my key to moving to another economic class. I was also drawn to tech because math and science are objective subjects rooted in proof: you’re either right, wrong or innovating.

Women, particularly women of color, are underrepresented in tech. How have you seen women of color break into this work?

Peta-Gay: Breaking into the tech industry requires a great deal of persistence, resilience and support. Early exposure, access and opportunities also make a huge difference. I personally have had mentors and sponsors enter my life at critical points. But if we’re going to see major shifts in the number of women of color entering the tech sector, we need innovative public and private partnerships and new ways to access careers in tech.

Shameeka Emanuel, program manager of Google’s Code Next program, sits behind her laptop. She is wearing glasses and looking into the camera, smiling.

Shameeka Emanuel, program manager of Google’s Code Next program

You’ve been working with Google’s Code Next students for six years. What still surprises you about working with them?

Peta-Gay: I’m still surprised how often our students are excluded and underestimated. There are still far too many schools that don’t offer computing courses, and even if they do, our students may not be eligible to take them. Many of our budding engineers join Code Next to get the exposure and access they need. They join as freshman in high school and stay through graduation. Our inaugural cohort have even stayed connected through the program, and they’re now sophomores in college!

Shameeka: The students continuously blow me away, there’s no limit to what they can achieve. Our senior leadership sees it too. I’ve even seen their eyes twinkle when they attend our student showcases! Being a part of this leadership team has also helped me raise my own children — I’ve learned that you have to remove boundaries and focus on the play part of education to truly inspire the next generation.

What do you hope the students who participate in Code Next learn beyond new technical skills?

Peta-Gay: I want our students to become lifelong learners. My hope is that they never stop exploring and tinkering, but more importantly they find joy in learning.

Shameeka: I want our students to use what they learn here to reach back and pull others forward. We want to inspire the next generation of makers and engineers to become disruptive leaders in tech with a growth mindset. I hope they keep growing and glowing!

What do you hope to achieve with the new Women of Color in Tech scholarship?

Peta-Gay : Together with Scholly, our team is excited to sponsor a new Women of Color in Tech scholarship that will award up to 20 Black, Latina and Native women with $10,000 towards computing degrees.

Shameeka: It was created to raise awareness of the gender gap in tech and the challenges women of color face trying to enter the industry. We also hope it eases some financial burden for the winners so they can focus on their studies.

Peta-Gay, lead of Google’s Code Next program, speaking at a Code Next Hackathon in New York City.

Peta-Gay, lead of Google’s Code Next program, speaking at a Code Next Hackathon in New York City

In the spirit of Women’s History Month, can you tell us about any role models or mentors who’ve helped you grow?

Peta-Gay: My first role models were my mother and my grandmother. I’m a first-generation immigrant, so to know my parents came to the United States from Jamaica and had to start their lives all over is my greatest motivation.

Shameeka: I’ve been blessed to cross paths with amazing women in this industry who took time to counsel and mentor me over the years. But the next generation — our students — are now pushing to create a world where diversity and access are the norm and not the exception — and I’m excited to watch them create this change!

Head over to Code with Google to learn how other Google programs and partnerships are addressing equity gaps in tech, including more scholarships for students pursuing degrees in computer science education.

An intro to AI, made for students

Adorable, operatic blobs. A global, online guessing game. Scribbles that transform into works of art. These may not sound like they’re part of a curriculum, but learning the basics of how artificial intelligence (AI) works doesn’t have to be complicated, super-technical or boring.

To celebrate Digital Learning Day, we’re releasing a new lesson from Applied Digital Skills, Google’s free, online, video-based curriculum (and part of the larger Grow with Google initiative). “Discover AI in Daily Life” was designed with middle and high school students in mind, and dives into how AI is built, and how it helps people every day.

AI for anyone — and everyone

“Twenty or 30 years ago, students might have learned basic typing skills in school,” says Dr. Patrick Gage Kelley, a Google Trust and Safety user experience researcher who co-created (and narrates) the “Discover AI in Daily Life” lesson. “Today, ‘AI literacy’ is a key skill. It's important that students everywhere, from all backgrounds, are given the opportunity to learn about AI.”

“Discover AI in Daily Life” begins with the basics. You’ll find simple, non-technical explanations of how a machine can “learn” from patterns in data, and why it’s important to train AI responsibly and avoid unfair bias.

First-hand experiences with AI

“By encouraging students to engage directly with everyday tools and experiment with them, they get a first-hand experience of the potential uses and limitations of AI,” says Dr. Annica Voneche, the lesson’s learning designer. “Those experiences can then be tied to a more theoretical explanation of the technology behind it, in a way that makes the often abstract concepts behind AI tangible.”

Guided by Google’s AI Principles, the lesson also explores why it’s important to develop AI systems responsibly. Developed with feedback from a student advisor and several middle- and high-school teachers, the lesson is intended for use in a wide range of courses, not just in computer science (CS) or technology classes.

“It's crucial for students, regardless of whether they are CS students or not, to understand why the responsible development of AI is important,” says Tammi Ramsey, a high school teacher who contributed feedback. “AI is becoming a widespread phenomenon. It’s part of our everyday lives.”

Whether taught in-person or remotely, teachers can use the lesson’s three- to six-minute videos as tools to introduce a variety of students to essential AI concepts. “We want students to learn how emerging technologies, like AI, work,” says Sue Tranchina, a teacher who contributed to the lesson. “So students become curious and inspired to not just use AI, but create it.”

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The future of learning is digital

Celebrate Digital Learning Day on February 22 with technology lessons from Google’s Applied Digital Skills.

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The future of learning is digital

With the rise of online learning and digital tools, education has dramatically changed over the years — requiring teachers and students alike to learn new digital skills. On February 22, thousands of educators around the world are celebrating the use of technology in the classroom by participating in Digital Learning Day. Whether in school or at home, we’ve seen technology can help provide access, increase engagement and help educators and students open up new possibilities for learning, especially over the last few years.

In honor of Digital Learning Day, Grow with Google’s Applied Digital Skills program has curated a collection of our most popular digital lessons, which includes everything from how to make art using spreadsheets to creating a presentation. Applied Digital Skills is Google’s free, online, video-based curriculum that teaches learners of all ages the practical technology skills needed to be successful in school, work and beyond. To date, this curriculum has helped more than three million students learn digital skills and has helped thousands of educators teach them in a fun and engaging way.

Matt Winters, a Senior Technical Trainer at the Utah Education Network and co-lead for Google Educator Group Utah, has incorporated Applied Digital Skills lessons in his community by training educators across the state of Utah to help them get more comfortable with technology. I met with him virtually to talk about his experience integrating technology and digital tools to create more personal learning experiences in the classroom.

An interview with a teacher who uses Applied Digital Skills
10:25

What does digital learning mean to you?

In Utah, we are promoting several activities to get teachers and students involved in Digital Learning Day. And it isn’t about celebrating just one day or one week: This is a skillset that every teacher and student needs on a daily basis. Technology is a tool, and with any tool we need to know how to use it.

Technology is a tool, and with any tool we need to know how to use it.

In your opinion, how can Applied Digital Skills be used in the classroom to promote digital learning?

We as teachers are asked to do so much, especially since the pandemic. Whether it is planning curriculum, taking attendance or being experts in social-emotional learning, on top of all that we are asked to be technology experts. Teachers just don’t have time for all of it. Applied Digital Skills gives teachers the latitude to teach the technology skills that they want students to learn, without ever having to know the technology skills themselves. Although they can take the lessons too!

I also love the open-source nature of Applied Digital Skills. The lessons can easily be adapted to not just your content area, but also the digital tool you would like to use. One of my favorite lessons is Create a Comic Strip with Google Drawings. It’s a big hit with students and was a no-brainer given my personal love for graphic novels. The curriculum encourages teachers to hand off the lessons to the students to let them easily learn the technical skills needed. This allows the teacher to step out of the “sage on the stage” role and switch into coach mode. And they are able to be the content experts that they are and focus their attention on students who need additional support.

What advice would you give to teachers who are skeptical of bringing technology into the classroom?

My biggest suggestion to teachers is to simplify what you are doing with technology in the classroom. Less is more. Get comfortable with a few tech tools first. Start small. It doesn’t have to be a huge overhaul of your curriculum. If you are going from using very little or zero technology, start with very little increments to grow your confidence. That is a very easy win as you will continue to grow your skills over time.

We have to remind ourselves that some things that seem scary to us teachers aren’t actually that scary. For example, I was initially intimidated by some of the coding lessons but I realized how comfortable and easy it was to learn to code with Google Apps Script. By using lessons like Create a Guide to an Area, I was able to get comfortable with coding and show my students that this is much less daunting than it seems. No matter where you are at in your journey with digital skills, all you need to do is start today. Just remember to take it one step at a time.

Rajavi Mishra on becoming a computer science researcher

Rajavi Mishra first knew she wanted to become a computer science (CS) researcher when she was a high school junior in Delhi, India. After studying electricity in her physics class, she was hooked on learning even more about the field. Rajavi spent her summer interning with a lab supervisor to design experiments that studied the mechanical life deterioration of electrical contractors, and then expanded that work into a research paper that was published during her senior year of high school.

Today, Rajavi is a senior studying CS at the University of California, Berkeley, and is one of the most recent graduates of Google’s CS Research Mentorship Program (CSRMP). Growing up in India, Rajavi felt like her dream of completing a computer science internship as a high school student and pursuing a career in computer science would be daunting and difficult to achieve. But, thanks in part to the relationships she built during CSRMP, she’s enjoyed every bit of it.

Started in 2018, CSRMP provides mentorship, networking and career exploration to undergraduate and graduate students from historically marginalized groups (HMGs) who are interested in pursuing computing research. The program’s fifth class of students — which included Rajavi — graduated in December 2021, adding 201 students from 109 institutions across the United States and Canada to an alumni community of more than 500 CS researchers. Here’s what Rajavi had to say about her CSRMP and computing research experience:

How has CSRMP impacted your research journey?

I gained insight into a breadth of research domains during speaker series and hands-on workshops. One of our small-group pod sessions had panels with researchers from various Human and Computer Interaction (HCI) sub-domains, which helped me get a taste of different skills, roles and projects in the space.Our pod sessions were real-world learning-focused, and explored different research tools and methodologies in HCI, interesting case studies of projects, and what life as a researcher at Google is like.

What was the highlight of CSRMP?

One-on-one sessions with my mentor were the highlight of my experience. Through discussions with my mentor, I was able to gain solid feedback on my work — from grad school applications and industry research experiences to my current research project at Berkeley. I have a much better understanding of computer science industry research positions and future opportunities for the role.

What were some challenges you had to overcome during the program?

The biggest challenge was letting go of my internal inhibitions and taking the initiative to connect with peers and mentors. To make the most of the program, I had to communicate expectations with my mentor and not feel ashamed for not knowing something. In the end, being a curious learner helped me broaden my horizons and network.

What are you looking forward to most in the year ahead?

As part of my EECS honors thesis, I have been working with Professor Chasins to study how people interact with digital assistants, which we hypothesize do not sufficiently fulfill all possible user queries. While the current research focuses on what people ask their assistants, we wanted to explore how people want to be able to express themselves to their voice assistants. With this in mind, we designed a seven-day in-situ diary study where we asked people with no voice assistant experience to record requests they would ask their assistants. I am using open-coding and language processing techniques to analyze study data, categorize diverse user needs and build an ecologically valid benchmark suite of queries that current voice assistants fail to fulfill. As I wrap up my senior honors thesis, I’m excited to see how my skills have grown since I published my first paper as a high school senior. I'm also thrilled about graduating next semester and joining graduate school as a master’s student to further explore the research area of HCI.

What advice do you have for students like you who are curious about becoming a researcher in computing?

A mentor who can help you identify, shape and strengthen your interests in computer science is pivotal. Learning from my mentors has been invaluable to my progress as a learner, researcher, problem solver and human being.

Congratulations to all of the students who graduated from the CS Research Mentorship Program in the second half of 2021! If you’re interested in joining students like Rajavi Mishra to explore what the world of CS research has to offer, then be sure to apply for the September 2022 mentorship cycle in July when applications open.

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Mentorship inspires Deyrel Diaz and future researchers

Find out how Google’s CS Research Mentorship Program helped Clemson University PhD student Deyrel Diaz build a network for success.

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Connect confidently with Google Meet security features

Safer Internet Day is about coming together for a better, safer internet – and we at Google for Education are committed to working with schools and families to provide a safe online learning environment. Every day, Google keeps more people safe online than anyone else in the world with products that are secure by default, private by design and put you in control. And this promise extends to all that we build for you, school leaders.

Constant online protections for education

At Google for Education, we’re always looking for new ways to keep you safe. All of our products are private by design, which means they support compliance with the most rigorous data privacy standards — including FERPA, COPPA and GDPR — and are regularly audited by independent, third-party organizations. By making Google for Education products secure by default, we provide additional layers of protection, with ad-free learning experiences that help keep students safe from online threats and age-inappropriate content. And we put you in control, with a dashboard that gives you full visibility of your data and security, regular Google Security Checkups that help you maintain a secure account and additional security features in your security center to protect your school’s data and devices.

Our goal is to support and protect each member of your education community so they can focus on what matters most: teaching and learning.

Google Meet offers more moderation, control and integration

With our ongoing effort to provide a safer learning environment, we’ve been focusing on combating a prominent security pain point for many schools today: video meetings. We’re excited to share some recently announced enhanced security measures for Google Meet to help educators and students connect in a full class setting or one-on-one with fewer distractions and more privacy and security.

In-meeting moderation controls: To help educators engage with their students, we’ve added more ways to help moderate class meetings and eliminate unwanted intrusions or interruptions. With these new features hosts can:

  • Control who can use the chat and present features
  • Turn on or off audio and video of individuals or everyone in the main call and breakout rooms
  • Move participants from breakout rooms[f18fc6]back to the main room
  • Share moderation controls with up to 25 co-hosts

Control and visibility: We know admins need more ways to protect their schools and more data and insights to drive comprehensive decision making, so we’ve rolled out additional admin features that allow them to:

  • Apply safety settings across their domain
  • End meetings for everyone and prevent people from rejoining
  • Get insights into how people are using Meet
  • Identify, triage and act upon any security breaches[f3304d]

Google Classroom integration: We’re making Meet and Classroom work even better together. The Google Meet integration with Classroom helps educators meet and work with their classes more easily and securely, allowing them to:

  • Access the Class Meet link from the stream to limit distribution to class members only, while making meeting links easier for teachers to manage and for students to find
  • Keep students in a waiting room until the teacher joins, and uninvited guests must ask to join to ensure a safer environment for class interaction
  • All designated co-teachers are co-hosts by default so multiple teachers can help keep the class meeting on track and secure

Built-in security

In addition to these newly added moderation and security features, Google Meet runs on one of the world's most advanced security infrastructures for scalability and control. Meet adheres to IETF security standards for Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) and Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP). In Meet, all data is encrypted in transit by default, whether meeting on a web browser, on the Android and iOS apps, or in meeting rooms with Google meeting room hardware. Meeting IDs are 10 characters long, with 25 characters in the set, making unauthorized access by guessing the ID extremely difficult.

We look forward to sharing more about our work to keep you safer with Google, including details on our new partnership with Khan Academy to develop free, online lessons that will help teach people how to stay safe online.

We remain committed to providing industry-leading privacy and security protections built into Google for Education products, which enable students and teachers to work better together by connecting safely and securely.

Investing in Detroit with Ford and Michigan Central

At Google, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to learn the skills needed for today’s most in-demand jobs. Across the country, we are investing in workforce readiness and mentorship programming, and are growing our efforts by partnering with others in the private and public sectors.

Consistent with this, today in Detroit we announced that we will be joining Ford Motor Company as a founding member of Michigan Central. Michigan Central is a new innovation hub where companies, government and community stakeholders will focus on the future of mobility — both in terms of economic opportunity and transportation solutions — in Detroit and beyond. Michigan Central will deploy new urban transportation solutions, workforce development and other tools to tackle the world’s mobility challenges to create opportunities for everyone. This new partnership will bring together the automotive and tech industries to equip job seekers with new skills, mentor high schoolers learning to code and provide critical tools for Michigan Central projects and research.

1. Expanded opportunities to learn digital skills

Since 2017, Grow with Google has trained more than seven million Americans in digital skills. We have trained more than 200,000 Michigan residents, working in partnership with approximately 260 organizations across the state. Beginning today, we will team up with local nonprofits to provide free access to our Google Career Certificates, which help people enter high-growth career fields including data analytics, IT support, project management and user experience design. No prior experience or degree is required, and jobseekers get access to resume templates, coaching and career placement support, mock interview practice and more. 82% of graduates have reported a positive career impact within six months, such as a raise, a promotion or a new job.

There are more than one million U.S. roles open in the Certificate fields. To provide additional job opportunities for our Certificate graduates, we created a network of more than 150 companies, including, Verizon, Deloitte and of course, Google, that are committed to considering Certificate graduates for jobs. Ford will now partner with us to consider new graduates for relevant roles, and will offer current employees the opportunity to participate in the Certificate program.

A woman sits at a laptop while a man in a Grow with Google shirt stands up and talks to her

A Grow with Google training in Michigan.

2. More access to computer science skills for high schoolers

Providing better access to computer science for students, particularly to those from racial and ethnic groups that remain underrepresented in STEM, has been an important part of our work in Michigan. We've previously worked with organizations like the Kapor Center's SMASH Program, Wayne State University and the Detroit Public Schools to provide computer science education and resources to historically underrepresented students in the region.

Now Code Next, our immersive computer science education program for high schoolers ,will provide coaching at a new Code Next Lab in Michigan Central for local Detroit students, so that they can learn and develop the skills needed to pursue further education and careers in technology fields. Code Next focuses on serving Black, Latino, Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native students, and nationally, approximately 88% of Code Next graduates have gone on to pursue STEM majors at the higher education level. This Code Next Lab is Google’s first in the Midwest, and will join our other locations in New York and Oakland in offering computer science education programming. The Lab will provide live coaches, state-of-the-art technical equipment and content ranging from Javascript programming to UX design.

3. Powering technology with Google Cloud

In order for the United States to build the next great technologies, people need access to the latest data and digital tools. That’s why we are bringing Google Cloud technology, including our Cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities and data and analytics tools, to Michigan Central to be used on projects and research for future mobility solutions.

The world is in the midst of a digital revolution – cities, mobility, digital tools and the skills people need for their jobs are all changing. It goes without saying that truly effective solutions can come about only through collective efforts, and we are confident our partnership with Michigan Central will enable us to make a difference in the lives of Michigan residents and communities around the world as they navigate these changes.

Investing in Detroit with Ford and Michigan Central

At Google, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to learn the skills needed for today’s most in-demand jobs. Across the country, we are investing in workforce readiness and mentorship programming, and are growing our efforts by partnering with others in the private and public sectors.

Consistent with this, today in Detroit we announced that we will be joining Ford Motor Company as a founding member of Michigan Central. Michigan Central is a new innovation hub where companies, government and community stakeholders will focus on the future of mobility — both in terms of economic opportunity and transportation solutions — in Detroit and beyond. Michigan Central will deploy new urban transportation solutions, workforce development and other tools to tackle the world’s mobility challenges to create opportunities for everyone. This new partnership will bring together the automotive and tech industries to equip job seekers with new skills, mentor high schoolers learning to code and provide critical tools for Michigan Central projects and research.

1. Expanded opportunities to learn digital skills

Since 2017, Grow with Google has trained more than seven million Americans in digital skills. We have trained more than 200,000 Michigan residents, working in partnership with approximately 260 organizations across the state. Beginning today, we will team up with local nonprofits to provide free access to our Google Career Certificates, which help people enter high-growth career fields including data analytics, IT support, project management and user experience design. No prior experience or degree is required, and jobseekers get access to resume templates, coaching and career placement support, mock interview practice and more. 82% of graduates have reported a positive career impact within six months, such as a raise, a promotion or a new job.

There are more than one million U.S. roles open in the Certificate fields. To provide additional job opportunities for our Certificate graduates, we created a network of more than 150 companies, including, Verizon, Deloitte and of course, Google, that are committed to considering Certificate graduates for jobs. Ford will now partner with us to consider new graduates for relevant roles, and will offer current employees the opportunity to participate in the Certificate program.

A woman sits at a laptop while a man in a Grow with Google shirt stands up and talks to her

A Grow with Google training in Michigan.

2. More access to computer science skills for high schoolers

Providing better access to computer science for students, particularly to those from racial and ethnic groups that remain underrepresented in STEM, has been an important part of our work in Michigan. We've previously worked with organizations like the Kapor Center's SMASH Program, Wayne State University and the Detroit Public Schools to provide computer science education and resources to historically underrepresented students in the region.

Now Code Next, our immersive computer science education program for high schoolers ,will provide coaching at a new Code Next Lab in Michigan Central for local Detroit students, so that they can learn and develop the skills needed to pursue further education and careers in technology fields. Code Next focuses on serving Black, Latino, Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native students, and nationally, approximately 88% of Code Next graduates have gone on to pursue STEM majors at the higher education level. This Code Next Lab is Google’s first in the Midwest, and will join our other locations in New York and Oakland in offering computer science education programming. The Lab will provide live coaches, state-of-the-art technical equipment and content ranging from Javascript programming to UX design.

3. Powering technology with Google Cloud

In order for the United States to build the next great technologies, people need access to the latest data and digital tools. That’s why we are bringing Google Cloud technology, including our Cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities and data and analytics tools, to Michigan Central to be used on projects and research for future mobility solutions.

The world is in the midst of a digital revolution – cities, mobility, digital tools and the skills people need for their jobs are all changing. It goes without saying that truly effective solutions can come about only through collective efforts, and we are confident our partnership with Michigan Central will enable us to make a difference in the lives of Michigan residents and communities around the world as they navigate these changes.

The Chromebook repair program: A sustainable fix for schools

Did you know that using a Chromebook can help reduce your carbon footprint? In fact, Chrome OS devices made by our manufacturing partners consume up to 46% less energy than comparable devices and are designed with sustainability in mind — from their durable shells to their scratch-resistant glass. And we’ve worked with these same partners to make Chromebook components interchangeable, reusable and safely disposable.

Graphic showing two stats: “Chrome OS devices consume up to 46% less energy than comparable devices” and “Switching 1,000 devices to Chrome OS can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90%.”

Sustainable features like these are particularly helpful to the education world, with 50 million students and teachers using Chromebooks made by our manufacturing partners. With such a large community of Chromebook users, we want to work with our partners to build towards a more sustainable device ecosystem — starting by helping schools find information about repairable devices. Today, we’re taking the first step by creating a Chromebook repair program for schools, beginning in the United States.

Animation showing tools , with text explaining the benefits of a student-led repair program — including faster and more cost-effective repairs.

Easily find repairable devices

Many Chromebooks have been repairable for years, with some repairs already covered under system warranties and managed by authorized service providers. But it’s been challenging for school IT administrators to find information about which devices they can repair. As part of the Chromebook repair program, we’re partnering with companies like Acer and Lenovo to spotlight more Chromebooks that are repairable. On our new site, schools can easily identify which Chromebooks have commonly repaired components, like the keyboard, display and palmrest. Online manufacturer guides will also show how to repair the devices, find tools to safely fix them, get replacement parts, find training and get system update access if needed. This is just the first step, and we’re looking forward to hearing feedback to help grow and improve the program.

Start your own school repair program

Some Chromebook manufacturers, like Acer, provide training for schools to perform their own repairs. So, many schools have already created Chromebook repair programs, working alongside teachers and IT teams to repair their devices (shout-out to some of our favorite names, like “Chromestop” and “Chrome Depot”). Some even offer Chromebook repair as an elective course. In-school programs like these are not only eco-friendly, they can significantly reduce turnaround time, save on costs and help students learn valuable skills.

"Acer designs its Chromebooks for the education market with both durability and ease-of-repair in mind,” says James Vick, Vice President, Customer Service, Acer Pan America. "On campus repair programs enable students to help their own school by conducting safe and rapid repairs of Chromebooks, while also teaching them a valuable transferable skill that can help them pursue a career in the IT field. Acer supports valuable programs that give students an opportunity for hands-on learning beyond traditional curriculum.”

We’re inspired by schools around the world that are creating their own Chromebook repair programs — like Jenks Public Schools in Oklahoma, whose in-school repair service led to faster turnaround time for Chromebook repairs and stronger IT skills in graduates. To help others get started, we’ve created a playbook for setting up a Chromebook repair program in your school, with input from IT administrators. Keep an eye on our page for more resources and sustainability-focused devices best suited for a repair program.

Looking for a sustainable way to reuse other devices? Schools can also revive and extend the lifespans of PCs and Macs by converting them to deliver a Chrome OS experience using CloudReady.

Acer designs its Chromebooks for the education market with both durability and ease-of-repair in mind. On campus repair programs enable students to help their own school by conducting safe and rapid repairs of Chromebooks. James Vick
Vice President, Customer Service, Acer Pan America
Three images of students at school with Chromebooks, repairing devices and participating in a Chromebook repair program

Students at Jenks Public Schools in Oklahoma run their own student-led repair program for Chromebooks

Educate the next generation

Preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s environmental challenges is also key to our commitment to sustainability. As we aim to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030, we’ll continue to share Google’s best practices with the education world. And we’ll keep developing sustainability courses in our Teacher Center and through programs like Science Buddies, Your Plan, Your Planet, Google Arts & Culture Expeditions, Experiments with Google and Google Earth Education.

The Chromebook repair program: A sustainable fix for schools

Did you know that using a Chromebook can help reduce your carbon footprint? In fact, Chrome OS devices made by our manufacturing partners consume up to 46% less energy than comparable devices and are designed with sustainability in mind — from their durable shells to their scratch-resistant glass. And we’ve worked with these same partners to make Chromebook components interchangeable, reusable and safely disposable.

Graphic showing two stats: “Chrome OS devices consume up to 46% less energy than comparable devices” and “Switching 1,000 devices to Chrome OS can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90%.”

Sustainable features like these are particularly helpful to the education world, with 50 million students and teachers using Chromebooks made by our manufacturing partners. With such a large community of Chromebook users, we want to work with our partners to build towards a more sustainable device ecosystem — starting by helping schools find information about repairable devices. Today, we’re taking the first step by creating a Chromebook repair program for schools, beginning in the United States.

Animation showing tools , with text explaining the benefits of a student-led repair program — including faster and more cost-effective repairs.

Easily find repairable devices

Many Chromebooks have been repairable for years, with some repairs already covered under system warranties and managed by authorized service providers. But it’s been challenging for school IT administrators to find information about which devices they can repair. As part of the Chromebook repair program, we’re partnering with companies like Acer and Lenovo to spotlight more Chromebooks that are repairable. On our new site, schools can easily identify which Chromebooks have commonly repaired components, like the keyboard, display and palmrest. Online manufacturer guides will also show how to repair the devices, find tools to safely fix them, get replacement parts, find training and get system update access if needed. This is just the first step, and we’re looking forward to hearing feedback to help grow and improve the program.

Start your own school repair program

Some Chromebook manufacturers, like Acer, provide training for schools to perform their own repairs. So, many schools have already created Chromebook repair programs, working alongside teachers and IT teams to repair their devices (shout-out to some of our favorite names, like “Chromestop” and “Chrome Depot”). Some even offer Chromebook repair as an elective course. In-school programs like these are not only eco-friendly, they can significantly reduce turnaround time, save on costs and help students learn valuable skills.

"Acer designs its Chromebooks for the education market with both durability and ease-of-repair in mind,” says James Vick, Vice President, Customer Service, Acer Pan America. "On campus repair programs enable students to help their own school by conducting safe and rapid repairs of Chromebooks, while also teaching them a valuable transferable skill that can help them pursue a career in the IT field. Acer supports valuable programs that give students an opportunity for hands-on learning beyond traditional curriculum.”

We’re inspired by schools around the world that are creating their own Chromebook repair programs — like Jenks Public Schools in Oklahoma, whose in-school repair service led to faster turnaround time for Chromebook repairs and stronger IT skills in graduates. To help others get started, we’ve created a playbook for setting up a Chromebook repair program in your school, with input from IT administrators. Keep an eye on our page for more resources and sustainability-focused devices best suited for a repair program.

Looking for a sustainable way to reuse other devices? Schools can also revive and extend the lifespans of PCs and Macs by converting them to deliver a Chrome OS experience using CloudReady.

Acer designs its Chromebooks for the education market with both durability and ease-of-repair in mind. On campus repair programs enable students to help their own school by conducting safe and rapid repairs of Chromebooks. James Vick
Vice President, Customer Service, Acer Pan America
Three images of students at school with Chromebooks, repairing devices and participating in a Chromebook repair program

Students at Jenks Public Schools in Oklahoma run their own student-led repair program for Chromebooks

Educate the next generation

Preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s environmental challenges is also key to our commitment to sustainability. As we aim to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030, we’ll continue to share Google’s best practices with the education world. And we’ll keep developing sustainability courses in our Teacher Center and through programs like Science Buddies, Your Plan, Your Planet, Google Arts & Culture Expeditions, Experiments with Google and Google Earth Education.

Supporting education with a new line of Chromebooks

Chromebooks play an important role in the classroom, helping 50 million students and teachers learn and collaborate from wherever they are. So as the education world adjusts to new changes, especially when it comes to virtual learning, our devices should too. Teachers need more powerful machines to help them plan and share lessons, manage student performance and teach both remotely and in person; IT teams need devices they can easily repair, repurpose and upgrade; and students need ones that keep their personal and school data safe, and can easily fit into a backpack.

So today, we’re introducing a new line of more secure and sustainable Chromebook devices — plus updated programs, resources and Chrome OS advances — built entirely for education.

Discover more device options

We know there are many types of Chromebooks out there, and it can be hard to find the right match. On our new Chromebook discovery page, you can easily search for device capabilities like graphic design and lesson planning. You can also find which Chromebooks have features like LTE connectivity, improved video conferencing and camera-based document scanning.

Gif of three enterprise grade Chromebooks rotating

New teacher-inspired Chromebooks — like the Acer Chromebook Spin 713, HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook and Lenovo ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook — have improved stylus capabilities, design and performance. And with the same OS as their students, teachers can easily help them troubleshoot and navigate the latest updates. New student devices — including the HP Fortis 14 G10 Chromebook, ASUS Chromebook Flip CR1, Dell Chromebook 3110 and Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Go — also have greater durability and updated connectivity capabilities. And like all Chromebooks, each one has a cloud-based operating system that keeps apps and documents securely backed up, even if devices are damaged or lost.

With these new, more powerful devices, schools can continue helping students plan their futures. Read how the Chester Upland School District in Pennsylvania is using Chromebooks to deliver design software programs like Adobe to prepare their students for design and engineering jobs.

Repair, revive and future-proof your devices

The best way for schools to drive sustainability while cutting costs is by extending the life spans of their devices. We just announced the Chromebook repair program, where we’re working with partners like Acer and Lenovo to share more information about Chromebooks that schools can easily repair themselves with proper training. As part of the program, we’ve also introduced new resources and best practices like setting up a student-run IT shop.

Animation showing tools , with text explaining the benefits of a student-led repair program — including faster and more cost-effective repairs.

For more about these updates, visit the revamped Chrome Enterprise and Education Help Center. You can also register for our upcoming virtual event, Teach With Chrome Series, to hear from teachers and other educational leaders using Chromebooks in the classroom.