Sometimes some inconsistencies in the use of applications like Canvas, Classlink, Google Drive, etc, arise when students are using Chromebooks. This may include, but is not limited to, web page content not updating, authorization failures when accessing Google content from within Canvas, and more.
Most of those inconsistencies can be resolved with some regular, standard, device maintenance.
Update The Chromebook
Operating system updates are pushed out to Chromebooks automatically. However, it requires the user to log out of, and reboot, the device in order for the update to be applied. Students facing this issue should do the following:
- Click the three dots on the top right of the Chrome browser window.
- Click Help
- Click "About Google Chrome"
- Next to the words "To see if your device is up to date" click "Chrome OS Settings"
- In the window that opens click "Check for Updates"
If the device needs updating then it will download and install the update. Wait until the process is complete. This may take a while. You will see that the update is complete when the words "Your device is up to date" are displayed. Sometimes the words "Nearly up to date" will appear - in which case the student should click the "Restart" button to the right of the window.
If the device did not need updating, the words "Your Chromebook is up to date" will appear, in which case you need not do anything further with regard to this step.
Log out of personal accounts.
It has been observed that many, but not all, students who experience this issue have also logged into personal Gmail accounts on their Chromebooks. While students cannot log into the Chromebook itself with anything other than a district account, they can open a new tab to another Gmail account to check personal email, etc. Students should log out of ALL personal accounts on their Chromebook. Then students should log out of, and reboot, the Chromebook itself.
When they log back into the Chromebook students should NOT log into any personal Gmail accounts.
Clear Browser History
After conducting the previous steps, before accessing Canvas, students should do the following:
- In the Chrome web browser close all tabs and then open a new tab.
- Press "ctrl" + "H".
- In the window that opens click "Clear Browsing Data"
- Click "Advanced"
- Check ALL the available boxes (passwords, cookies, etc), and set the time-range for "ALL TIME".
- Click "Clear Data"
The selection of cookies and ALL-TIME is important. If you do NOT select all boxes and choose something other than "ALL TIME" the temp fix may not work.
