Using Vernier Data Tools on a Chromebook

By David Andrade
published

Using Vernier Data Tools on a Chromebook

Chromebooks are very powerful, and very useful, devices. You can even use them with Vernier Data Tools.

Vernier is a huge name in data collection tools for science and math and they have been working to support Chromebooks for some time. Earlier this year they released their Graphical Analysis tool for Chromebooks (free) and they have continued to make their products work with Chromebooks.

There are two different ways you can use their tools with Chromebooks. One is using a USB connector and the other is wireless. For the USB connection for the sensors, you need the USB connector and the Graphical Analysis Software. For the Wireless connection, you need the Labquest device and the software. Many schools already have the Labquest devices anyway.

USB

  1. Students begin their experiment by connecting sensors to their Chromebook USB port.
  2. Using Graphical Analysis for Chrome, students set experiment parameters and start data collection.
  3. Real-time sensor data is shown as a graph, a meter, or a table for different learning styles.
  4. Students can annotate their graph, perform curve fits, run calculations, and more.
  5. Students can easily create and send a finished lab report to their instructor, save their work to Google Drive™, or export data to Plotly™ for further study.

Wireless

  1. Students in a lab group set up an experiment with Vernier sensors and LabQuest 2.
  2. Each student launches Graphical Analysis for Chrome on a Chromebook and connect to LabQuest 2.
  3. After starting data collection, experiment data are wirelessly streamed from LabQuest 2 to each Chromebook.
  4. Every lab group member analyzes data on a Chromebook in class or at home.

Vernier devices and sensors are used by high school and college courses around the world and it's nice to see that Chromebooks are supported.

Related:

What can you do on a Chromebook? Pretty much everything.

Google for Education Resources, includes Chromebooks

Vernier announces LabQuest2 - Android, iPhone, iPad data collection and analysis-

David Andrade is a Educator, Educational Technology Specialist and Education Administrator in CT. Before teaching, David was an Aerospace Engineer for 10 years.He is the author of theEducational Technology Guy blog, where he reviews free educational technology resources for teachers, discusses ways to use technology to improve teaching and learning, and discusses other issues in education. He is also a professional development trainer, educational technology consultant and presenter at conferences. Check out his blog at http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/ for more resources, tips, links, information and more. Follow him onTwitterandGoogle+.

Disclaimer: The information shared here is strictly that of the author and does not reflect the opinions or endorsement of his employer.

David Andrade

David Andrade, MS Ed, a former educator, edtech specialist and school district CIO, is the Business Development Manager, Google Services, at CDW•G, a leading provider of integrated information technology solutions. He works with schools and internal teams on services and solutions around their Google environment.