Even before the global pandemic hit in 2020, Chromebooks had become a staple in the American classroom. When schools began to shut down and remote learning became the new normal, the adoption of 1:1 devices for students skyrocketed as schools districts scramble to keep the educational stream flowing amidst the unprecedented adversity. Now that the dust has settled, many schools have doubled down on ChromeOS and some studies estimate that an astonishing 85% or more of US K-12 schools have a Chromebook program in place.
With technology at the very center of many education programs, device management has become a very hot topic over the past few years. For large school districts, the need for a digital Chromebook management solution is an absolute must but educational institutions of all sizes can reap benefits from implementing a good deployment and management solution. One such solution, VIZOR, has quickly become an industry leader for Chromebook management, distribution, and repairs. The platform’s seamless integrations with the Google Admin Console ensures that IT departments can quickly and efficiently manage all their devices in one place whether in the classroom our out in the wild.
Arts & College Preparatory Academy
Arts & College Preparatory Academy is a public charter high school located on the east side of Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 2002, the charter school serves approximately 800 students from grades 7 to 12 and focuses on providing its students with progressive education and identifying “student-focused” solutions to the every day classroom obstacles.
Like many schools, the faculty of ACPA found themselves in uncharted waters when the COVID pandemic became a global emergency in March of 2020. In an effort to properly equip students while simultaneously supporting the ACPA families, ACPA initiated a Chromebook 1:1 policy so that students could continue receiving effective, real-time education via remote learning. When things were back to normal and students returned to the classroom, ACPA decided to focus on optimizing its 1:1 Chromebook initiative.
ACPA educator Destiny Dewar isn’t just a mathematics teacher at the school, they are the one-person IT department in charge of distributing, managing, tracking, and repairing the school’s tech devices. When the time came to choose a new system for doing this, ACPA chose VIZOR because it integrated with all the systems the school already had in place including Google Classroom and PowerSchool SIS.
The system we had previously was just a spreadsheet. It was really hard to keep track of everything and it put a lot of burden on the teachers to keep it updated. We needed a solution to help us easily track which students have which Chromebooks and inventory our other technology assets like iPads, cameras, and monitors.
Destiny DeWar, Mathematics Teacher at ACPA
How ACPA uses VIZOR to manage Chromebooks and IT assets
ACPA adopted the barcoding functionality of VIZOR to reduce distribution time for Chromebooks and other devices. According to DeWar, this alone has increased the efficiency of device management by 50%. VIZOR has also streamlined the tech help desk for ACPA. Instead of countless emails from, all the tech-related tickets are funneled directly through the centralized VIZOR self-service portal.
With VIZOR we keep track of Chromebooks and other assets, what needs to be repaired, help desk tickets, and more. It’s a central hub for all our needs at the school.
Destiny DeWar ACPA
As you can see, VIZOR is so much more than just a Chromebook management platform. Device tracking, remote disabling, repair tracking and barcode management are just a few of the powerful tools offered by this all-in-one solution. Check out the extensive list of how VIZOR can help your district or school streamline your IT department saving precious time and money in the process.
- Email notifications can be sent to students, families and teachers when a device is due for return or ready for collection
- Consolidate multiple Google Admin domains
- Manage all costs associated to Chromebooks
- Automatically populate device warranties
- Device search and queries
- Comprehensive Dashboards and Reporting
- Track student device insurance
- Remotely Disable lost, stolen or overdue Chromebooks
- Acknowledgement of equipment receipt with electronic signature
- Self-service portals for teachers, principals, librarians, students, and families
- Distribute Chromebooks by scanning barcodes on devices and student ID cards
- Identify Old Versions of Chrome OS
- View Chromebooks by their location such as School and Classroom
- Automatically identify problem ‘lemon’ devices
- Identify trends in repairs
- Manage inventory of Projectors, Carts and Smartboards
- Simplify Chromebook loaner swap outs
- Google Workspace account single sign-on
If you’re interested in scheduling a demo with VIZOR, we’re here to help. We’ve teamed up with VIZOR to bring you a hassle-free, no-obligation demo with one of VIZOR’s helpful team members. If you decide that VIZOR is right for you, you can save as much as 20% off your first year. Learn more and schedule your demo at the exclusive link below.