During this COVID-19 outbreak, we will be having online distance learning opportunities for all students in our district. It may be difficult to know what kinds of devices will work for accessing the teacher-provided content, so below is a guide to help you understand what devices will be compatible with the lessons.
What will my student be accessing?
For the most part, all lessons will be through applications that are part of Google's G Suite. Google offers many wonderful tools that are free to educational institutions. We at Field have been actively using these resources for roughly 5 years now as a means to enhance your child's learning experience. All students in the district who have parent/guardian permission to work on online classroom assignments have school Google accounts and access to all of the tools that come with it. During this time of distance learning, teachers will be further utilizing the Google tools that your child is already familiar with to allow them to learn from home.
What does my child need to access these resources?
To access Google's G Suite for Education utilities, your student will need a device capable of accessing the internet and running the latest version of the Chrome browser. While other browsers will (for the most part) work with the G Suite tools, they are not recommended as some features may not work properly; these tools were created by Google and designed to work on their browser.
The Google Chrome browser is free to download and install and can be found at the link below.
What devices are compatible with Google Chrome?
Google Chrome can be downloaded and installed on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Chrome OS and Android devices that meet the minimum requirements. This includes desktop computers, laptops, Macbooks, iPads, iPhones, Chromebooks and Android phones and tablets. Below are the requirements for each system.
Windows: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 or later
Mac: OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later
Linux: 64-bit Ubuntu 14.04+, Debian 8+, openSUSE 13.3+, or Fedora Linux 24+
iOS (iPhone or iPad): iOS 10 or later
Chromebook: Chromebooks manufactured after 2015 set to auto-update will automatically have the latest version of Chrome installed
Android: Chrome is available on phones and tablets running Android 4.4+ (KitKat)