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School Chromebooks

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Every Gunn student is provided with an Acer 512 Flip Chromebook.

Details

The computers come with Gorilla Glass touchscreens and feature a 180-degree hinge that can convert the computer into a tablet, disabling the keyboard. Since a magnetic sensor is used to detect the flipped lid, placing a normally opened one on top of a closed one causes it to enter tablet mode, collapsing all browser tabs.

Chromebooks have two cameras: one at the top of the screen, where most laptop webcams are found. The other is at the back of the keyboard, which is designed to be used while the computer is in tablet mode.

Chromebooks can charge from two USB-C ports, one on each side of the computer. Also, they have a USB 3.0 port, a micro SD slot, and an audio jack on the left side. There is another USB 3.0 port on the right side. The power button is located on the left, while a volume adjustment is present on the right.

Helpful commands

By default, chromebooks come installed with an international keyboard facilitating the typing of accented letters like "á" and "ñ". To change between keyboards, press ctrl + space.

To take screenshots, press ctrl + shift + Show Windows (a box with two vertical lines to the right).

More commands are found here.

Firewall

Chromebooks are managed by PAUSD. Some restrictions they implemented include blocking the "Inspect" command, disabling various settings including Linux Developer mode, disabling the installation of extensions, etc. In addition, many sites are censored by Securely, a browser extension that monitors student internet usage and blocks various sites. Over the years, students have found various ways to get around district restrictions.

How to get around

Many of these methods are now defunct, as they have been found out and blocked by the district.

  • Don't use a school Chromebook -- OPEN
  • Use Internet Archive's Wayback Machine as a proxy -- BLOCKED
  • Install browser extensions like Leaf Browser or Avocado Browser -- BLOCKED
  • Use proxy sites or virtual desktops like proxysite.com -- MOSTLY BLOCKED
    • There is a possibility of using services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create a virtual desktop, though this is not free -- OPEN
  • Use VPNs -- BLOCKED
  • Use "unblocked" versions of games -- MOSTLY BLOCKED
  • Use various sites containing many unblocked games like Unblocked Games 66 EZ -- SOME OPEN
    • There are so many of these that are constantly appearing and being blocked that it's pointless to list them. Just search "unblocked games" on any search engine.
  • Use educational sites as proxies for games. Admins are unlikely to block these.
  • "Goated Website Unblocker" on Scratch -- BLOCKED
    • instructions: press the green flag, then enter the url and press enter. It will generate a link, which you paste into a new tab.
  • Download the html of a page (using a tool like this one), then open it. -- OPEN
  • Use Utopia Unblocker -- BLOCKED
    • Note that Utopia's software is available on Github and you might be able to find a way to deploy it on your own.
    • In addition to original URLs there are a few unblocked deep web URLs that serve the same purpose but are only available for Utopia's Patreon supporters. -- OPEN
  • Various "bookmarklets" (bookmarks that run javascript) that unblock Securly one way or another -- BLOCKED
  • SecurlyONC from Github -- OPEN
    • You must use the wifi network "PAUSD" for this to work, it doesn't work with "PAUSD-Managed".
    • In general, Github is an excellent site for finding unblocking methods
  • "about:blank cloaking", a method to hide a game's url using the about:blank page -- OPEN
    • Find details online
  • Log out and go to the PAUSD Kiosk app from "Apps" in the taskbar. Open a Google Doc and insert a link to google.com, then click it. -- OPEN
  • Find some way to jailbreak the computer, freeing it from the control of PAUSD permanently -- PRESUMABLY OPEN
    • Instructions can be found here.
    • By pressing esc + refresh + power (the left side button), you enter recovery mode. Then, press ctrl + D to enter developer mode, which allows you to do all sorts of fun things, like installing linux.
    • Please note that this is truly the "nuclear" option and will very very likely result in you getting in trouble. It is not known whether this actually works, because no one has tried it.

Policy

According to School Board policies, available on Board Docs,

PAUSD believes that open access to the internet is important to the educational process and, further, that education in the proper use of technology, not restricted access, is the best way to protect our students on the internet. For this reason, PAUSD engages in very limited filtering of internet content by ensuring district technology with internet access have a protection measure that protects against access to visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors and that the operation of such measures is enforced.

[...]

The Palo Alto Unified School District expects that students will use District technology for purposes consistent with the instructional program. PAUSD technology resources should be used primarily for class assignments and other learning activities. Only school related files should be stored in student accounts. Students are expected to be good stewards of District technology resources, leaving equipment and work areas in good condition.

[...]

District technology and bandwidth are shared and limited resources and all users have an obligation to use those resources responsibly. Students are provided access to PAUSD technology primarily for educational purposes. Incidental personal use of District technology is acceptable, but students should not use district technology for personal activities that consume significant bandwidth, for personal activities or for activities that violate school policy or law.


These include but are not limited to:

  1. Playing games or online gaming unless approved by a teacher.
  2. Downloading software, music, movies or other content in violation of licensing requirements, copyright or other intellectual property rights.
  3. Installing unauthorized software.
  4. Downloading, viewing or sharing inappropriate content, including pornographic, defamatory or otherwise offensive material.
  5. Conducting any activity that is in violation of school policy, the student code of conduct or local, state or federal law.
  6. Engaging in any activity that is harmful to other student(s), including cyberbullying.
  7. Participating in political activities.
  8. Conducting for-profit business.
  9. "Hack" into the system to manipulate data of the district or other users
  10. Intentionally disrupt or harm district technology or other district operations (such as destroying district equipment, placing a virus on district computers, adding or removing a computer program without permission from a teacher or other district personnel, changing settings on shared computers)
  11. Using any software or proxy service to obscure either the student’s IP address or the sites that the student visits.
  12. Disabling, bypassing, or attempting to disable or bypass any system monitoring, filtering or other security measures.
  13. Accessing or attempting to access material or systems on the network that the student is not authorized to access.

Specifically, three things are to be noted:

  • District policy stipulates that it shall avoid internet censorship except in cases of obscene websites
  • Students are obligated to use their devices for educational purposes only
  • It's implied that teacher may authorize students to play computer games
  • Students may not use proxy sites nor attempt to circumvent district censorship

This is an example of the dichotomy between official policy and its implementation.

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