ChromeOS Flex - School Download Details

[Dos_Box]

Fiona @Google has been very kind today and sent us (as in all of us) a PDF (attached) outlining how you can sign up to receive a free Flex kit to allow you to upgrade older non-Google hardware (PC's and Mac's) to ChromeOS Flex.
They also holding a webinar on the 2nd July at 11am to cover how to get the best out of it.

You can register for the webinar here - https://educationonair.withgoogle.com/events/edu-on-air-k12?talk=refresh-your-device-fleet-k12-edled

ChromeOS Flex.pdf

[itskdog]

Interesting that they're still doing promotions for Flex with Aluminium on the horizon.

 

I'm assuming the "Flex Kit" is just a pre-prepared USB stick and instructions to install it?

[Dos_Box]

No idea, I suppose it may well be that it could either be a stepping stone to Aluminium from non-Google devices, or Aluminium may have certain hardware requirements that negate x86 CPU's. By all accounts the only demos have been on ARM devices so far.
According to the Wikipedia article here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_OS - Aluminium - is going to be rolled out to Chromebooks with no mention of non-Google devices...yet.
I'll drop them a line and try to see if I can't find out for you.

[pete]

^ When I ordered it (a while ago) it was a transparent google-branded USB stick.

 

They are quite persistent in finding out how you're getting on with it.

[Dos_Box]

@itskdog Google have got back to me and tell us that Aluminium will not affect education products for several years and the advice from Google is to continue using Chromebooks and ChromeOS Flex.

[KK20]

I do like flex, simple and works well with PWA.  But I do baulk at having inflexible licensing for flex devices - especially when the laptops are effectively scrap anyway.  Sure you CAN run them without the upgrade, and for some one-to-one devices this might work out ok. 

[Olliedawg]

I like it too. We converted a handful of our DFE laptops to ChromeOS Flex to use as shared devices. We are a Microsoft School - so we have them setup so that the student signs in with their Microsoft 365 login. Nice and easy!

[ITGuyNW]

How much does it cost these days to licence them in google admin?

[Olliedawg]

4 minutes ago, ITGuyNW said:

How much does it cost these days to licence them in google admin?

Can't remember exactly, was between £25-£30 per device..

[KK20]

46 minutes ago, Olliedawg said:

I like it too. We converted a handful of our DFE laptops to ChromeOS Flex to use as shared devices. We are a Microsoft School - so we have them setup so that the student signs in with their Microsoft 365 login. Nice and easy!

identical setup here.  The dfe laptops were useless as windows devices but quite workable as chrome flex devices, decent battery life too.