by AGParts Education | Chromebook Parts, Chromebook Repair
Ready or not, back to school is here. Soon, tech-tastrophes will descend upon many a technology department. As more schools opt for in-house repairs through dedicated IT departments or student-led electives, preparing your workspace with a Chromebook repair tool kit is essential.
Today, we’ll outline everything your school needs to be ready to replace “oh-no” with “oh yes!” (Spoiler alert: it’s more than your standard screwdriver and pry tool). Before we dive in, let’s review why more schools choose in-house repairs.
Why In-House Repairs?
A popular choice amongst 1:1 Chromebook deployments, in-house repairs offer these benefits:
- Ease of repair: Since parts of a Chromebook are few, repairs are generally straightforward, making repairs ideal to perform in-house.
- Cost savings: Only pay for parts rather than labor and parts.
- Time savings: Get your devices back into your students’ hands faster.
Chromebook Repair Tool Kit Essentials
Here’s everything you need for a Chromebook repair tool kit to handle in-house repairs like a pro. You can grab our entire repair kit here.
5-Piece Chromebook Repair Tool Kit
Anti-Static Accessories
Anti-static accessories include an anti-static mat and an anti-static wrist strap. These accessories provide grounding and prevent static electricity discharge that can damage a unit’s motherboard. While they’re essential when handling motherboards, it’s highly recommended to incorporate these tools into your regular repair routine.
Anti-static wrist strap
Organizers
Einstein famously quipped: “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”
While it’s a great question to ponder, let’s agree the best workstation is organized, especially regarding Chromebook repairs. Work mats with organizers or containers can help you keep screws and components separated as needed. Bonus points if organizers are magnetic.
Incorporate a work mat with organizers but keep your motherboards protected by using it in conjunction with anti-static accessories.
Did you know? In a pinch or under tight budgets, you can use clean lids from food containers as quick, inexpensive organizers.
Silicone repair work mat
Tools
A good tool set is worth its weight in gold when performing Chromebook repairs. Here are the staples you’ll need:
- Screwdriver set – pick one with a magnetized head and changeable bits
- Spudgers/pry tools – a mix of metal and plastic preferred
- Tweezers
Other items that could be helpful are a carrying bag, eject pin, and ruler. Good thing our universal tool kit includes everything you’ll need for your in-house repairs.
78-Piece Universal Tool Kit
Lighting
Easily overlooked leaving you in the dark, appropriate lighting will make seeing those teeny tiny screws and handling components so much easier. Shoot for LED lighting that can easily be moved, like our Flexible USB LED Light with Desk Clamp.
Flexible USB LED light with desk clamp
Let’s face it, back to school can be filled with tech-tastrophes 😱 We’re here to make sure you can conquer anything that comes your way. We’ll help you minimize downtime and stay within budget with our large inventory of Chromebook parts, buyback services, and more. Contact us today!
by AGParts Education | Acer, Announcements, Chromebooks, Education Technology, Lenovo
The Chromebook—the device of the twenty-first-century classroom. Their simplicity, price tag, and mobility make them the most popular choice for K-12 1:1 deployment nationwide. Here are eight new models to be introduced in 2023, all designed to endure the strain of everyday classroom use.
Acer Chromebook Vero 712
Release: April 2023
Processor: Intel Core i3-1215U, Intel Pentium Gold 8505, or Intel Celeron 7305
Battery: up to 10 hours
Memory: up to 8GB
Storage options: up to 128GB eMMC
Display: 12”
Resolution: 1366×912, LED-backlit TFT with IPS (touch optional)
Ports: 2 USB-C, 1 USB-A, 1 audio jack
Other features:
- Reinforced hinges and corners, metal-plated ports, and spill-resistant keyboards.
- Stereo speakers
- Dual microphones
- 720p webcam
- Wi-Fi 6E
- Bluetooth 5.2
- 5mm headphone/speaker audio
Acer Chromebook 511 (C736)
Release: April 2023
Processor: Intel Processor N100 or N200
Battery: up to 12 hours
Memory: up to 8GB
Storage options: up to 64GB eMMC
Display: 11.6”
Resolution: 1366×768, optional touchscreen
Ports: 2 USB-C, 2 USB-A, 1 audio jack, MicroSD card slot
Convertible: No
Other features:
- Reinforced hinges and corners, metal-plated ports, and spill-resistant keyboards.
- Stereo speakers
- Dual microphones
- 720p webcam
- Wi-Fi 6E
- Bluetooth 5.2
Acer Chromebook Spin 511 (R756T)
Release: April 2023
Processor: Intel Processor N100 or N200
Battery: up to 12 hours
Memory: up to 8GB
Storage: up to 128GB eMMC
Display: 11.6”
Resolution: 1366×768, touchscreen, optional USI stylus
Ports: 2 USB-C, 2 USB-A, 1 audio jack, MicroSD card slot
Convertible: Yes
Other features:
- Reinforced hinges and corners, metal-plated ports, and spill-resistant keyboards.
- Stereo speakers
- Dual microphones
- 720p webcam
- Optional 5MP webcam
- Wi-Fi 6E
- Bluetooth 5.2
Acer Chromebook Spin 512 (R856T)
Release: April 2023
Processor: Intel Processor N100 or N200
Battery: up to 12 hours
Memory: up to 8GB
Storage: up to 128GB eMMC
Display: 12”
Resolution: 1366×912, touchscreen, optional USI stylus
Ports: 2 USB-C, 2 USB-A, 1 audio jack, MicroSD card slot
Convertible: Yes
Other features:
- Reinforced hinges and corners, metal-plated ports, and spill-resistant keyboards.
- Stereo speakers
- Dual microphones
- 720p webcam
- Optional 8MP webcam
- Wi-Fi 6E
- Bluetooth 5.2
Lenovo 100e Chromebook Gen 4
Processor: MediaTek Kompanio 520
Battery: up to 16 hours
Memory: up to 8GB RAM
Storage: up to 64GB eMMC
Display: 11.6” anti-glare display
Resolution: 1366×768
Ports: 1 USB-C, 2 USB-A, 1 HDMI, 1 audio jack
Weight: 2.71 lbs.
Other features:
- Durable keyboard with full skirt keycaps and reinforced ports and hinges
- Wi-Fi 6 and optional 4G LTE3
- 720p HD front-facing camera with privacy shutter
Lenovo 300e Yoga Chromebook Gen 4
Processor: MediaTek Kompanio 520
Battery: up to 16 hours
Memory: up to 8GB RAM
Storage: up to 64GB eMMC
Display: 11.6” IPS touch display featuring Corning Gorilla Glass, optional garaged stylus
Resolution: 1366×768
Ports: 1 USB-C; 2 USB-A; 1 HDMI; 1 audio jack
Convertible: Yes
Weight: 2.9 lbs.
Other features
- 360-degree hinge and rubber bumpers
- 720p HD front camera with privacy shutter and optional 5MP world-facing camera
- Wi-Fi 6
Lenovo 500e Yoga Chromebook Gen 4
Processor: Intel Processor N100 or N200
Battery: up to 16 hours
Memory: up to 8GB RAM
Storage: up to 128GB eMMC storage
Screen: 12.2” IPS touch display with 16:10 aspect ratio featuring Gorilla Glass and TUV certified low blue light
Resolution: 1920×1200
Ports: 1 USB-C, 2 USB-A, 1 HDMI, 1 audio jack
Convertible: Yes
Weight: 2.9 lbs.
Other features:
- Touch display support and optional active stylus pen
- 1080p or 720p front-facing camera with shutter and optional 5MP world-facing camera
- Wi-Fi 6 or 6E2 and optional 4G LTE3
Lenovo 14e Chromebook Gen 3
Processor: Intel Processor N100 or N200 or Intel Core i3-N305 processor
Battery: up to 14 hours
Memory: up to 8GB RAM
Storage: up to 128GB SSD
Ports: 1 USB-C, 2 USB-A, 1 HDMI, 1 audio jack
Convertible: Yes
Weight: 3.2–3.3 lbs.
Other features:
- Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E
- 720p or 1080p front-facing camera with privacy shutter
- Water resistant keyboard, up to 350 mL
Find out why 7,500 districts and counting have trusted AGParts Education for Chromebook buyback, parts procurement, and more. Contact us today!
by AGParts Education | Chromebook Parts, Chromebooks, K-12 Education
If your district is implementing a computing program, Chromebooks are an essential consideration. Low in price and secure, Chromebooks are internet-heavy devices running on Chrome OS.
One of the most attractive features about a Chromebook is the fact that they are relatively low maintenance. With little to no software, OS and app updates are often automatic and occur in the background. In terms of hardware, there are very few moving parts in the device.
Parts of a Chromebook
Even though they are lean on hardware, you should still be familiar with their parts. Here are the parts of a Chromebook:
Motherboard
The heart of your Chromebook, the motherboard is the main circuit board. It holds and enables all communication between many crucial systems in your Chromebook. The motherboard holds the central processing unit (CPU).
Battery
Chromebooks use lithium-ion batteries, which are rechargeable. Another draw about Chromebooks is their long battery life. Most Chromebooks can support an eight-hour school day easily on a single charge.
A/C Adapter
Also referred to as a power cord or charger, a Chromebook’s A/C adapter is its external power supply that recharges the battery.
Display
Referred to by many names, a Chromebook’s display is composed of an LCD and the glass screen. Depending on your Chromebook, it may also have a digitizer.
- LCD: Liquid-crystal display, or LCD, is a flat-panel display that uses liquid crystals in its primary operation. LCDs are extremely common today, and largely replaced light-emitting diode (LED) displays.
- Screen: The protective glass that covers the LCD
- Digitizer: If your Chromebook features a touch screen, it will have a digitizer which enable s the touch screen functionality.
Bezel
Typically made of plastic, the bezel is the border around the display.
Web Cam
The web cam is located above the display in the bezel.
Microphone
The microphone is typically located beside the web cam.
Ports
Chromebooks come equipped with a variety of ports which can include:
- USB ports: type A, C, or both
- Headphone and/or microphone jack
- Micro SD slot for expandable storage
- SIM card slot for Chromebooks with LTE capabilities
Keyboard, Touchpad, and Palmrest
Often sold as one part, the keyboard, touchpad, and palmrest is where the action occurs on the Chromebook.
- Keyboard: Although still in QWERTY format, Chromebook keyboards differ from a Windows laptop or MacBook. The caps lock key has been replaced with the search/launcher key. There are also no enhanced function keys (F1-F12).
- Touchpad: Also referred to as clickpad or trackpad, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive panel that controls point-and-click functionality.
- Palmrest: The plastic cover surrounding the keyboard and touchpad is the palmrest.
Top and Bottom Covers
The shell of the Chromebook is comprised of the top and bottom covers. They can be made of plastic or aluminum.
Repairing Your K-12 Chromebooks
Although Chromebooks are low maintenance, they sometimes do need to be repaired. The good news is that they are generally easy to repair and oftentimes the repairs can be completed in house.
All you need is a reliable Chromebook parts supplier to source parts and a tutorial. That’s where we come in! AGParts Education has the capability to support school districts of any size in parts procurement with:
- An inventory of 500,000+ OEM new and reclaimed parts
- Orders that ship the same day plus free shipping
- Discounts on bulk order
- A dedicated sales executive to simplify and assist your district in managing your 1:1 program
- A comprehensive YouTube library of 250+ repair tutorials for a variety of models and variety of repairs
AGParts Education has been in the classroom since Chromebooks were first introduced, partnering with Council Bluffs School District, one of Google’s pilot schools. Find out why 7,500+ school districts, including Council Bluffs, rely on us for their Chromebook parts, technology buyback, and more. Contact us today to see how we can help your school district today.
by AGParts Education | K-12 Education, Student Wellness
Many school districts wrestle with how to support students’ health and wellness effectively. With more students seeking mental health services, a school district’s role in supporting students and providing adequate resources and care is critical.
In the 2021-2022 school year, 96% of public schools reported providing mental health services to their students. Of those, 88% of schools agreed they could not effectively provide mental health services to students in need.
Schools identified an insufficient number of mental health professionals to manage their school’s caseload, inadequate access to mental health professionals, and inadequate funding as three limitations to effectively addressing their students’ mental health needs.
How can districts effectively support their student’s mental health needs? One consideration is through health and wellness apps.
Before we explore the apps available, let’s learn more about student wellness.
What is Student Wellness?
Student wellness is defined as the recognition by schools, districts, and educational professionals that there are many factors that impact a student’s academic attainment. It is an approach that focuses on supporting the whole child and is composed of seven factors—emotional, intellectual, social, personal, occupational, physical, and environmental wellness.
- Emotional wellness is the ability to successfully handle life’s stresses and adapt to change. Emotionally well students have a positive attitude, high self-esteem, a strong sense of health, and the ability to recognize and share their feelings with others in a constructive way.
- Intellectual wellness is a person’s ability to recognize their creative abilities and find ways to expand knowledge and skills. Intellectually well students have good study habits, critical thinking skills, are creative problem solvers, and can communicate clearly.
- Personal wellness is a person’s ability to create a sense of meaning and purpose in life. Personally well people are empathetic, have a clear sense of right and wrong, and can explain their beliefs.
- Social wellness is a person’s ability to develop a sense of connection, belonging, and a well-developed support system. A socially well student is assertive, self-confident, and able to work in a team effectively.
- Occupational wellness is a person’s ability to gain personal satisfaction and enrichment from one’s work. Occupationally well students experience satisfaction from completed work and understand their personal learning style.
- Physical wellness is a person’s ability to learn and model healthy practices and routines. When a person is physically well, they are attentive and alert.
- Environmental wellness is a school’s ability to promote safe and supportive environments that encourage wellbeing in the home, at school, and in the community. When a school is environmentally well, it creates of culture of respect within its shared norms and values.
Health and Wellness Apps
Health and wellness apps can help districts address their students’ health and wellness needs. Some of these apps could be used supplementally, while others could form the foundation of a robust health and wellness program. Here are four health and wellness apps that could better equip schools to address their students’ mental health needs.
Oasis Mental Health Applications
Oasis’ mission is to create technology that increases human connection and provides quality, holistic mental health care. Their comprehensive program is designed to get students back to learning and teachers back to teaching.
For the K-12 environment, Oasis offers the Oasis Education app featuring:
- Assessment and roadmap: Oasis’ clinical team works with you to assess your individual needs and creates a unique support roadmap.
- Student Support: the app provides students with on-demand support from mental health professionals and evidenced-based content to improve mental health and learning.
- Faculty & Staff Support: the Oasis Connect App provides educators with 1:1 classroom management coaching, as well as resources that support their mental and emotional health.
- Platform Implementation: Oasis’ clinical team guides you with evidence-based strategies to determine how to best support your students and teachers.
Sanvello
Sanvello’s aim is to meet people where they are in moments of need and surround them with tools and strategies that provide relief. Their app offers four types of support—self-care, peer support, coaching, and therapy.
- Self-care includes a daily mood tracker, guided journeys, and coping tools. Through weekly check-ins, Sanvello creates a roadmap for improvement.
- Peer support allows users to view posts from other members about a diverse range of topics in a judgement-free, label-free space.
- Coaching is like a fitness trainer for your mind. When users need help achieving their mental health goals, they can find the support and encouragement they need.
- Therapy can help users get unstuck, out of a spiral, and back to their lives. With a Sanvello therapist, users can identify unhealthy thoughts and patterns, and create a plan to feel better.
Daylio
Daylio is a self-care bullet journal with goals, a mood diary, and a happiness tracker. Without writing a word, users can easily track their moods and habits to compile a mood journal. Daylio then crunches the data and displays them in stats, charts, and correlations.
Teen Talk App
Teen Talk App provides a free, anonymous, safe space for teens to request support from trained peers and learn from others with similar experiences. With over 200 teens trained nationwide and teens supported in 100+ countries, the app has a 89% satisfaction rating.
Supporting your students’ health and wellness is paramount for any school district. Health and wellness apps can equip schools to provide students with the foundation for healthy lifestyles.
Find out why 7,500 districts and counting have trusted AGParts Education for Chromebook buyback, parts procurement, and more. Contact us today!
Sources:
National Center for Education Statistics
New Hampshire Department of Education
by AGParts Education | Chromebooks, Tips and Tricks
When it comes to a device, Chromebooks simply can’t be beat in terms of maintenance. Chrome OS updates and security patches are regularly delivered by Google and run in the background. There is little to no software and Chromebooks are also lean on hardware. However, there are a few tips and tricks on how to tune up a Chromebook to boost performance and your user experience.
How to Tune Up a Chromebook
Here are eight tips and tricks to tune up a Chromebook. Most of these tips, or combinations thereof, can be done in 15-20 minutes.
Uninstall Unnecessary Apps & Extensions
Required Time: 3 minutes
Recommended Frequency: Quarterly, or as needed
A great tip for all your devices—uninstalling unnecessary apps and extensions. Apps that you don’t use can slow your Chromebook’s speed and performance. They sometimes run in the background eating bandwidth and slowing load times of web pages.
Also, extra apps and extensions:
- Open the door to unnecessary data sharing
- Take up limited local storage
- Are a visual eyesore
How: To remove unwanted apps, access chrome:extensions in a new browser window. Review the items thoroughly and remove any unneeded apps or extensions. If you are on the fence about certain apps, toggle the app off. This deactivates the app but leaves the app on your Chromebook. If you miss it after a few days, activate it. If you don’t notice its absence, delete it.
Clear Your Cache
Required Time: 1 minute
Recommended Frequency: Daily, or after every browser session
Is Google Chrome especially sluggish or behaving squirrely? Clearing your browser’s cache could be just the fix you need.
Clearing your browser’s cache is a great performance tip for any device. It removes unnecessary files and cookies that are stored when you visit websites. It’s one of the quickest and easiest hacks, too!
It’s good to get into the habit of clearing your cache after each browser session or at the end of the day. Another great feature about clearing your cache is you can customize what you delete. For example, you can choose to remove cookies and cached files, but leave your browsing history intact.
How: In Google Chrome, click the snowman menu (three vertical dots) in the top right of the browser window. From there, follow these commands: Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data. Be sure to select exactly what you want to remove under both the Basic and Advanced tabs.
Review Extension Permissions
Required Time: 5 minutes
Recommended Frequency: Quarterly, or after new extensions are added
You can control how and when an extension is allowed to access data on your device, a feature introduced in 2019.
There are several options available now. Extensions can:
- Access browsing data all the time without restrictions
- Access browsing data only during the period of use
- Never access browsing data
How: Access chrome:extensions. Review access for each extension under Site access in Details.
Choose wisely. Most extensions need access to some sort of browsing data to function. If an extension keeps requesting a higher level of permission, chances are it needs it to run. You can upgrade its access or remove it entirely.
Uninstall/Update Unnecessary Android or Linux Apps
Required Time: 3 minutes
Recommended Frequency: Every 6-12 months
Much like the first tip, you can also remove any unneeded Android or Linux apps. The same benefits for removal apply.
For Android or Linux apps that survived, be sure to check and install updates. These apps don’t always update automatically.
How to Uninstall Apps: From Chromebook’s launcher, review apps. To remove unwanted apps, right click or long press, then Uninstall.
How to Update Android Apps: Access My apps & games in Google Play Store. Follow on-screen prompts to download updates.
How to Update Linux Apps: From Chromebook’s Terminal app, enter sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade into the prompt command to update.
Optimize Shortcuts
Required Time: 5 minutes
Recommended Frequency: Every 6 months or as needed
At its best, a Chromebook is equipped with all sorts of possible shortcuts to save time and boost productivity. It’s up to you to harness their power.
Update Shelf/Tray
A Chromebook’s tray or shelf is akin the Windows taskbar or a MacBook’s dock. Customize your tray to reflect the apps you use most frequently by adding/removing apps and website shortcuts:
Add an app: Use the launcher key to find the app you wish to pin to your shelf. Right click on the app icon and select Pin to Shelf.
Add a webpage: Open the site you wish to add to your shelf. Click the snowman menu (three vertical dots), then select Create Shortcut. For a desktop experience, select Open as Window.
Remove an app: Right click on the app icon in your shelf that you wish to remove and select Unpin.
Create Keyword Shortcuts
A great time-saving tip is to create shortcuts for internal functions or webpages based on keywords. For example, you can create a shortcut to pull up Chromebook settings simply by typing cs into your search bar.
How: Go to the website you want to create a keyword shortcut for. Copy the URL. Access chrome:settings/searchengines in your search bar. Click Add, then enter the information about the following information about the shortcut:
- Search engine will be the name of destination URL
- Keyword is what you type into the address bar to return URL
- Paste the URL you’ve copied into URL
Clean Cloud Storage & Sync Downloads Folder
Required Time: 3 minutes
Recommended Frequency: Every 1-3 months, or as needed
Remove unwanted or unneeded files from your Chromebook’s Files app every couple of months. This will reduce your clutter and keep your files organized.
Since Chromebooks have limited local storage, sync your downloads folder to your Google Drive. After you complete this step, all downloads will be saved to the cloud instead of locally.
How: From chrome:settings > Advanced > Location > Downloads > Change. Then, select a folder, or create a Downloads folder.
Enable Night Light
Time Required: 1 minute
Recommended Frequency: Once
Night Light adjusts your Chromebook’s display to make it less bright in evening hours or in limited lighting.
How: Two ways to do this. Enable Night Light under Quick Settings panel or within Chrome OS settings. From chrome:settings > Displays > Night Light. From there, edit the schedule to turn on the Night Light during certain hours of the day.
Enable Universal Voice Input
Time Required: 1 minute
Recommended Frequency: Once
You can enable system-wide dictation on your Chromebooks, just as you can use Siri on a MacBook or Cortana in Windows.
After this option is enabled, a small microphone will appear in the lower right corner of your screen next to notifications. Tap it any time you wish to use this option.
How: From chrome:settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Manage accessibility features > Enable dictation (speak to type).
For more Chromebook tips and tricks, check out our blogs on Chromebooks Basics and Chromebook Tips for Power Users.
AGParts Education supports 7,500+ innovative 1:1 school districts in Chromebook parts supply and technology buyback. Contact us today to see how we can help your school.
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