Switching student fleet to Chromebooks

[Blutarsky]

Hello everyone,

we're a really small EY/KS3 school with a dual curriculum and a limited time in the weekly schedule assigned to art & ICT. These subjects are currently covered in the school lab. At the moment, due to time constrains, the art & tech activities are limited to the basics:

 

• office automation tools such as Word,Excel & PP (Gradully moving to G Suite docs)
  
• painting & photo editing tools for Art.
  

As we have planned a huge switch to Chromebooks, we're thinking of extending this choice also in the lab, replacing Windows notebooks (yes, no high end workstations in here). We are aware about CB limitations, however for what we need it may be enough, as we wouldn't have enough time in the schedule to use advanced software unavailable on Chromebooks such as Photoshop, Final Cut, CAD or any other tool requiring a proper workstation.

 

BTW we will be purchasing a quality grade Chromebook Acer Spin 512, with touch screen & stylus pen pressure sensitivity, increasing flexibility and availability when using painting apps.

 

Your thoughts?

Edited February 4, 2020 by Blutarsky

[dhicks]

We are aware about CB limitations, however for what we need it may be enough, as we wouldn't have enough time in the schedule to use advanced software unavailable on Chromebooks such as Photoshop, Final Cut, CAD or any other tool requiring a proper workstation.

 

Chromebooks might not be as limited as you think - certainly, we've found WeVideo to be a very capable video editor, and Soundtrap looks like it's become an equally capable digital audio workstation (no direct experience of using Soundtrap myself).

 

There was mention of a relaunch of the Google Creative Apps bundle at the BETT show, but I can't find any more details from a quick search - I think the plan is that you could buy licensing for WeVideo, Soundtrap, Explain Everything and a couple of other applications in a simple manner through the Google Play store, complete with educational discounts, but I can't find a link right at the moment.

 

Chromebooks with styluses: nice idea, but we found keeping track of the styluses tricky. Probably best to keep the styluses in the room (art, probably) where they'll be used.

[Arthur]

There was mention of a relaunch of the Google Creative Apps bundle at the BETT show, but I can't find any more details from a quick search

More details here...

 

www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/education/creativityapps-chromebooks/

[Blutarsky]

Thanks for giving your thoughts on this.

 

Yes, I am quite happy about the behaviour of the above machine. It has enough memory, speed, and the stylus delay/lag is absent. Stylus pressure support is a real life changer as it expands artistic creativity to a superior level.

 

As for the creative bundle, it looks like some items are distributed as Android apps. Not a big concern for compatible Chromebooks, however this requires download and installing the app on a per-user basis, as there's no way to install the apps system-wide. Did you find a way to overcome this?

 

I take this opportunity to ask if is there any Chromebook-devoted section on edugeek

[colly72]

The Google Creativity App bundle is really interesting to me. We're looking at how Chromebooks can be used in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning and WeVideo was one product we looked at and seemed the only true Chromebook video editor aimed at education. Some of the other apps such as Explain Everything look fantastic too and perfect for classroom collaboration.

[RLR]

The Google Creativity App bundle is really interesting to me. We're looking at how Chromebooks can be used in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning and WeVideo was one product we looked at and seemed the only true Chromebook video editor aimed at education. Some of the other apps such as Explain Everything look fantastic too and perfect for classroom collaboration.

We use Explain Everything on our 1:1 ipads. Very good app!