Chromebooks/chromeboxes etc...

[localzuk]

So, I'm evaluating options for future changes, to be able to cope with the cuts we face and even though I'm not a fan I'm looking at the Chrome eco-system.

 

I've gone through a significant amount of the software we run and found equivalents that run in ChromeOS or in the Chrome browser but there's a few things I can't replicate. Can anyone suggest possibilities?

 

1. Kodu - 3D game creation environment

2. Electronic voting handsets - we have multiple sets of these

3. Visualisers - we have a dozen or so of these, of various makes, around the school. They are all USB models and cost several hundred pound a piece.

4. LEGO Mindstorms

 

There's also a huge stack of SEN software, but I can consider SEN separately as they only have a half dozen computers as it is.

[localzuk]

Another one - video editing. There is WeVideo but it watermarks unless you pay quite a chunk of money per year ($5 per pupil per year it seems).

[Arthur]

Another one - video editing.

YouTube has a basic video editor. Would that be suitable?

 

After purchasing VidMaker late last year, I think Google are working on a new web-based video editor for YouTube that is much more comprehensive.

[Arthur]

3. Visualisers - we have a dozen or so of these, of various makes, around the school. They are all USB models and cost several hundred pound a piece.

I've never tried connecting a visualiser to a Chromebook/box, but if it gets detected as a USB webcam by ChromeOS you should be able to select the camera under Content Settings > Media.

[NotSoFast]

One way to get around the voting handsets and visualisers is to leave teacher PCs as PCs and just replace ICT suites with Chromeboxes. That's our plan for now, particularly given that (I don't think) Smartboards will work very well with Chromeboxes. Other thoughts, in no particular order:

I don't like Kodu much. It's awkward to use, not very customisable and seems to crash a lot. I'd be just as happy using Scratch or App Inventor (yes, the emulator is a pain but we use a few cheap tablets and AI Companion for testing).

We got some very cheap visualisers (£30 ish) which do an OK job of just showing a kid's work on the projector. They are just a webcam on a stick, so they ought to work in ChromeOS, but I've never tried.

I have used Google forms to do voting, which works great if all the kids are sitting at a computer (of any kind).

 

Interesting thread!

[mjk]

for 2: have a look at https://getkahoot.com/ needs BYOD so may not be what you are looking for if your school bans phones.

Teachers here rave about it. As above, Google forms is good for this too.

 

for 3: I've only tried a couple of visualisers and all were generic cameras that chromebooks just worked with.

 

there are a lot of interesting apps that your teachers might like https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/chrome/education/webstore/app-packs.html#high

[localzuk]

YouTube has a basic video editor. Would that be suitable?

 

After purchasing VidMaker late last year, I think Google are working on a new web-based video editor for YouTube that is much more comprehensive.

 

Does Youtube allow you to publish videos only within the GAFE environment? Ie. Not publicly accessible?

 

One way to get around the voting handsets and visualisers is to leave teacher PCs as PCs and just replace ICT suites with Chromeboxes. That's our plan for now, particularly given that (I don't think) Smartboards will work very well with Chromeboxes. Other thoughts, in no particular order:

I don't like Kodu much. It's awkward to use, not very customisable and seems to crash a lot. I'd be just as happy using Scratch or App Inventor (yes, the emulator is a pain but we use a few cheap tablets and AI Companion for testing).

We got some very cheap visualisers (£30 ish) which do an OK job of just showing a kid's work on the projector. They are just a webcam on a stick, so they ought to work in ChromeOS, but I've never tried.

I have used Google forms to do voting, which works great if all the kids are sitting at a computer (of any kind).

 

Interesting thread!

 

Whether or not Kodu is any good, its on our curriculum and is liked by our ICT staff and pupils alike. Scratch is also taught. So, we're stuck with it.

 

With visualisers, I reckon I'll have to get hold of a chromebook and try them out.

 

With the voting, we've got over £5k of pretty young voting systems in school, we can't abandon them just yet.

[mjk]

The web version of Scratch runs on Chromebook.

[localzuk]

The web version of Scratch runs on Chromebook.

 

Indeed. Scratch isn't an issue. Kodu is.

[mjk]

Indeed. Scratch isn't an issue. Kodu is.

 

Have you thought about a Citrix/RDP type connection?

[localzuk]

Have you thought about a Citrix/RDP type connection?

 

I have, but Kodu has no chance of running over that without serious investment into RemoteFX/VDI (as its pretty heavy 3D graphics-wise), which would negate the cost savings of looking at Chromeboxes/books.

[mjk]

I have, but Kodu has no chance of running over that without serious investment into RemoteFX/VDI (as its pretty heavy 3D graphics-wise), which would negate the cost savings of looking at Chromeboxes/books.

 

Citrix (ICA/HDX) licensing is per concurrent connection so it might be worth looking at the numbers.

If you've got serious buget problems then depreciating the app is still an option even if the teachers have to rewrite schemes of work. There are alternatives they could use and if the TCO of running that course is too high then management need to make the call.