A new course from CTL, the Chromebook Care Course, enables middle and high school students to become certified Chromebook repair technicians, according to a news release. Enrolled students will receive a range of supporting resources, including an adviser toolkit, 11 self-guided instructional modules, assessments and a portfolio template to use in future job interviews. CTL also provides company merchandise and a training kit to support hands-on learning experiences.
The program arrives as some districts and education organizations, like the Santa Cruz County Office of Education in California, have been training students to assist overwhelmed IT staff with device repair, and districts nationwide are reassessing how to sustain 1:1 device initiatives amid staffing shortages and the expiration of federal pandemic relief funding. By training students in device repair and troubleshooting tech, the new CTL course aims to address both workforce development needs and long-term technology sustainability in schools.
“Our commitment at CTL has always been to the total life cycle of technology in education,” CEO Jason Mendenhall said in a public statement. “By empowering students to become certified technicians, we are not just teaching a valuable trade. We are directly addressing several major challenges for districts: significantly reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) through self-repair, ensuring faster device repair turnarounds for more learning uptime and fostering sustainability by keeping thousands of Chromebooks in use longer to reduce e-waste.”
At the same time, districts are rethinking how to maintain 1:1 device programs since COVID-era federal funding for devices and hotspots came to an end, with some schools pursuing more sustainable strategies, including longer-term budgeting for repairs and refresh cycles, and deeper student involvement in technology support roles.
