Chromebook Schools

[ass17]

Hi All,

 

Our school is looking into the chromebook over BYOD debate with the intention of our incumbent year 7s being the first to all get the same/similar device.

 

Does anyone have or know someone that has done a direct comparison with chromebooks and apple devices or have some case study material? Pro's/Con's Chromebooks etc..

 

Anything you can supply would be most helpful links, documents via PM etc...

 

Thanks

Andy

[TMBS]

Speak to C Learning:

 

https://www.c-learning.net/en

 

We had a Chromebook trial with them and it was really useful and won staff over. You get an overview of the Admin Console too.

 

We now have over 200 Chromebooks and I can't fault them!

[Snowy94]

We've placed a couple of orders with LGfL's Bridge the Divide over the last twelve months

 

I'm yet to find anyone offering cheaper solutions for the devices (unless anyone has any suggestions)? They usually seem to have good availability too

[dhicks]

Does anyone have or know someone that has done a direct comparison with chromebooks and apple devices or have some case study material?

 

No formally-written studies to hand, but some points I can think of:

 

- GSuite's built-in management of ChromeOS devices is pretty good, avoiding the need for a separate MDM. You do need to pay for a management license for each ChromneOS device you want to manage, now around £30, but that's a one-off fee (so not a yearly subscription), probably best considered part of the purchase price of a Chromebook.

 

- We've just purchased a yeargroup's set of Lenovo 500es - full-flip hinges (so your laptop turns into a tablet by simply folding the keyboard all the way back), world-facing camera (i.e. embedded on the keyboard) for use in tablet mode, and this particular model support stylus and actually has a stylus fitted in a slot under the keyboard. £340 each - price includes VAT, don't forget to add £30 to that for management license.

 

We've also recently bought some Asus Chromebook Flip C214s, which have a similar specification, including (on the correct model) a built-in stylus. The C214s seem a bit heavier than the 500es, although I've found the C214s to be impressibly robust so far - I dropped a couple when I was getting them unpacked and they pretty much just bounced off the floor with no damage, so maybe the extra weight is simply padding.

 

- If new hardware cost is an issue, using CloudReady to reformat existing hardware might be an idea. The nice thing about buying new hardware is that they'll all use the same charger, which is going to be a consideration if you're charging them in school - most newer devices seem to be standardising on 45W USB-C chargers. If you're buying charging cabinets, make sure they fit the devices - some Chromebooks can be a little chunkier than iPads and just a little deeper.

 

If the devices are staying in school and pupils want a ChromeOS device for home, then a re-formatted CloudReady device is probably going to be the cheapest option there. If you use a filtering solution that works on the client device, you should find that as long as your children are logged in with their school account they should have school filtering applied, which can be useful if you're wanting them to be using devices from home.

[TMBS]

No formally-written studies to hand, but some points I can think of:

 

We've also recently bought some Asus Chromebook Flip C214s, which have a similar specification, including (on the correct model) a built-in stylus. The C214s seem a bit heavier than the 500es, although I've found the C214s to be impressibly robust so far - I dropped a couple when I was getting them unpacked and they pretty much just bounced off the floor with no damage, so maybe the extra weight is simply padding.

-.

 

How much did you pay for the Asus Chromebook Flips? These sound ideal!

[dhicks]

How much did you pay for the Asus Chromebook Flips?

 

With VAT, they were around £340 each (again, don't forget the additional £30 per device management license fee). For that batch we got the version without stylus support, there's a version with stylus support (and, actually, a stylus in a built-in slot under the keyboard) for another £30 or so. Supplies can be a little variable at the moment, best to check with your supplier if "in stock" means actually in stock in a warehouse somewhere or whether that means "on their way in a shipping container".

 

For the pros-and-cons bit of iPads-vs-Chromebooks, iPads might be easier to find parts and repairs for - you can generally find a high-street shop somewhere that will stick you a new screen on an iPad.