Something not working? That’s okay.

Technology wobbles for everyone — teachers, learners, everyone. Nothing here is your fault, nobody is cross, and there’s no rush.

This page has some things you could try, in your own time. Or you can go straight to a person who can help.

A moment first, if you’d like

Some people find a slow breath helps before sorting out tech. Only if you want to — scrolling straight past is completely fine.

What’s happening?

Pick whichever feels closest. Each one has a few things you could try — they’re ideas, not instructions, and you can stop at any point.

The internet feels wobbly or keeps dropping

Wobbly internet is one of the most common things ever — and one of the easiest to blame yourself for. It’s not you.

If it’s easy to, you could move a bit closer to the wi-fi router. Walls and distance make a bigger difference than people expect.
Turning your device’s wi-fi off, counting to ten, and turning it back on often gives the connection a fresh start.
If other people at home are streaming films or gaming, the connection is being shared — it might settle if something pauses for a while.
If there’s an ethernet cable around, plugging in directly is the steadiest option of all.

If the connection won’t settle today, that’s genuinely okay. Your teachers know the difference between technology having a bad day and you having one. Lessons can be caught up.

Still wobbly? A person can help — no explanation needed beyond “my internet keeps dropping”.

I can’t hear people, or they can’t hear me

Sound problems are nearly always a settings thing, not a you thing.

If you use headphones, you could unplug them and plug them back in. That fixes it surprisingly often.
In Google Meet, the three dots at the bottom open Settings → Audio — you can check the right microphone and speakers are picked from the lists there.
Your browser sometimes asks permission to use the microphone. A small camera or padlock icon near the address bar shows whether it’s been allowed.
Leaving the call and rejoining gives Meet a chance to reset itself. You won’t lose anything by doing this.

While you sort it out, the chat box works fine — typing counts as taking part, always.

Still silent? A person can help.

My camera won’t work

Another app (like FaceTime, Zoom or the camera app) might be holding onto the camera. Closing other apps usually frees it up.
The browser permission icon near the address bar shows whether the camera has been allowed for Meet.
Leaving and rejoining the call often sorts it.

If the camera won’t behave, you can pop a quick message in the chat so whoever’s in the session knows — something like “camera’s not working, I’m still here”. That’s all anyone needs.

Camera still sulking? A person can help.

I can’t get in — login trouble

It’s worth checking which Google account you’re signed into — the little circle in the top-right corner of Gmail or Classroom shows it. Your NEO account is the one that ends in the school address from your welcome guide.
Joining the lesson through the link in Google Classroom (rather than a saved bookmark) usually lands you in the right place with the right account.
If your device has several Google accounts on it, signing out of the others for a moment can stop them arguing over who gets in.

If it still won’t let you in, that is a problem for a grown-up with admin buttons — not something you can break or should have to solve. One short email and it gets sorted.

Ask a person — “I can’t log in” is plenty of detail.

Everything is slow or frozen

Closing spare browser tabs gives your device room to breathe. (Tabs quietly eat memory even when you’re not looking at them.)
When you’re ready — and only when you’re ready — restarting the device gives it a completely fresh start.

Restarting is safe. Your work in Google Docs, Slides and Classroom saves itself automatically as you type — nothing disappears when the machine goes off. Truly.

Still treacle-slow afterwards? A person can help — it might be time to look at the device itself.

I’d just like a person, please

Completely reasonable — sometimes the right fix is a human. You don’t need to have tried anything on this page first.

Call 07507 692307 or 0333 772 9452, or see all the ways to reach us, including booking a Google Meet.

When tech stress builds up

Broken technology can make anyone’s chest go tight. These are options, not homework — use any, all, or none.

Stepping away is allowed

You can walk away from a misbehaving screen for a few minutes. Get a drink, stroke the dog, look out of a window. The tech problem will wait for you, and so will everyone else.

Feet, chair, breath

Some people find it settles things to press their feet flat into the floor, feel the chair holding them, and let one slow breath out. The bubble at the top is there if it helps.

Five things

If your thoughts are spinning: five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, one you can taste. No pressure to finish the list — it’s just an anchor.

Say it, don’t solve it

Typing “my tech is broken and it’s stressing me out” into the chat or an email is enough. Naming it is the whole job — fixing it becomes someone else’s.

Equipment & getting set up

What learners and staff need to take part fully in Nudge Education Online. If any of this is a barrier, tell us early — support is available, including financial assistance where there are gaps in access to technology.

Device

Laptop or 2-in-1 touchscreen device works best
8GB RAM and an i5 processor or better (or M1/M2 for Mac)
Windows 10+, macOS 12+, iPadOS 16+, or a Chromebook with full web compatibility
A mobile phone as the main device is strongly discouraged — it makes everything harder than it needs to be

Internet

Minimum: 10 Mbps download / 2 Mbps upload
Recommended: 25+ Mbps download / 5+ Mbps upload
Wired ethernet or strong, stable wi-fi

Accessories

Essential: headphones with a microphone (noise-cancelling preferred), external mouse or trackpad, webcam (built-in is fine). If you don’t have headphones, tell us — we’ll send some
Nice to have: stylus for handwriting and drawing, external keyboard for tablets, blue-light filter or tinted overlay

Tools that make things easier

Speech-to-text and text-to-speech (Voice Typing in Google Docs, Read&Write)
Coloured screen overlays or browser extensions
Timer and pacing tools
Comfort tools: fidget items, adjustable seating, hydration reminders

Browser & platform

NEO runs on Google Workspace — Google Meet and Google Classroom
Chrome or Edge, fully updated, work best
Minimum screen size: 11 inches

When you start

A welcome guide with your username, tutorials and troubleshooting tips (if NEO sends you a Chromebook, the card in the box is the whole manual — see below)
A live tech onboarding session
Support from our Engagement and Operations Coordinator to get accounts, devices and platform confidence sorted

For the adults alongside

If you’re a parent, carer or professional supporting a learner through a tech hiccup, a few things that help:

Fix the wi-fi, not the child

Keep the problem located in the technology, out loud: “this laptop is being annoying” lands very differently from “what did you press?” The tech is always the culprit.

Offer, don’t instruct

Direct demands can shut things down, especially for learners with a PDA profile. “I wonder if the router needs a restart” or quietly doing it yourself works better than a list of orders.

Low-key presence

Sitting nearby, unbothered, is powerful. The message that matters is: this is fixable, nobody’s in trouble, and missing a few minutes of a lesson is not a crisis.

Loop us in early

If tech trouble is becoming a pattern, or kit is a barrier, email us. Sorting it quietly behind the scenes is exactly what we’re here for — and it stops small frustrations turning into reasons not to log on.

Your NEO Chromebook

If NEO has sent you a Chromebook, this is the same card that came in the box. Six steps and you’re in — and your Practitioner-Mentor will ring to check it all worked.

Getting in

Open the lid and plug in the charger.
Choose your home wi-fi and type the wi-fi password (ask whoever looks after the wi-fi at home).
Type your username — just the part written on your card, nothing after it.
Type your NEO password — the one you already use.
NEO Today opens with your timetable. You’re in.
Your Practitioner-Mentor will ring to say hello and check it all worked.

If the screen asks to update and restart first, let it — then start again from step 2.

Good to know

The Chromebook belongs to Nudge Education Online and is for your NEO work. Only your NEO account works on it.
“Managed by nudgeeducation.online” on the sign-in screen is correct — it means the device is set up for you.
Keep the charger with it. When your time with NEO ends, we’ll send a label to post it back.
Lost, damaged or stolen? Tell us straight away — nobody will be cross, we just need to know.

Filtered and monitored, to keep you safe

Like every NEO account and device, it is filtered and monitored. Filtering follows your NEO account: it is on whenever you are signed into Chrome with your NEO account, on any device, and only in that profile. If something is flagged, our safeguarding lead sees it first and will talk to you.

If a site you need for learning is blocked, tell your Practitioner-Mentor — we can allow it.

The rules we work to

The short versions are on the card and above; the full policies live in the NEO policy library:

Online Safety and Acceptable Use — what filtering and monitoring mean, and how we expect everyone to behave online
Remote Learning — how lessons run, cameras, backgrounds and what to do if something goes wrong
Home-School Agreement — what NEO, learners and families each promise, including a safe, quiet space to learn
Digital Consent and AI Safety Parent Guide
Privacy Notice for Learners — what we hold about you and why

Parents and carers: the Parents & Carers Pack collects everything in one place.

Things the Chromebook won’t do

Incognito windows, guest mode and adding other accounts are switched off on purpose, and it can’t be reset at home. That’s not a fault — it’s how we keep the device yours and safe. If it seems stuck, a person can help.

A person who can help

A real human is here to help — usually our Engagement and Operations Coordinator. You don’t need the right words or the full story. “My mic isn’t working” is a perfect start.

Call us on 07507 692307 (mobile) or 0333 772 9452 (office).

Book a Google Meet with us Email neo@nudgeeducation.online

Or visit nudgeeducation.online. There’s no such thing as a silly question, and asking twice is fine too.