Chrome will bring about the ICT revolution in schools

[p858snake]

...snip... Electronic voting systems, now there is a waste of money, whats wrong with a show of hands? But cloud based use a shared spreadsheet or questionnaire not difficult. ...snip...

 

It depends, I've seen them used ok, It depends on who is using them (eg: you need staff willing to learn how to use them) and where you are using them.

 

I've seen them used in computer rooms or rooms where everyone has a laptop and that already had the same site open (the VLE), to me that is just pointless in time, equipment and money, there are already systems and programs that let you ask a question and display the "quizzer" on the computer/webpage instead of needing to play around with additional hardware. But i've seen them used successfully in non computer rooms where there is just a terminal and projector for the teacher so the students could interact and it worked well.

 

So overall it just depends who is willing to learn how to use them and then want to implement them into their teaching.

 

 

(I prefer the software solutions because you don't need to worry about losing them, no issues with batteries and such)

[gshaw]

Understood. I was making the point that it is the same situation in all walks of IT, cloud based or not.

I recall when MS used to give away TSCals for free with windows 2000/XP - until enough people started using it then there was a massive price hike ( £10 extra for a TS Cal on a £30 windows license for a school) There are countless other example such as when Capita force an MS Office/MSSQL/Windows upgrade

 

Unless you insist on open standards in your procurement process there is always a risk that your data isn't in your hands or that you will be forced to part with more money to access it.

 

Indeed, although in this case it's similar in a way to the BSF scenario in that once servers go it's very costly to start again in-house if for whatever reason the Cloud system doesn't live up to expectations i.e. new servers, SANs and so on... doubt many places will have that kind of money in bulk again so the local > cloud conversion could be a one-way street.

 

That said it could be one-way street you don't need to travel back down, using trends from the past I'd say it will probably go a similar way to server virtualisation... the brave (and cash rich) people will be the early adopters and iron out the bugs then once it's proven and reliable it filters down to be accessible to more people as a standard solution. That for me is the point when you make the jump as there's some precedent there to learn from and you move onto the new platform confident in what it can do (and any issues you need to work around).

 

Interesting points about the voting kits actually, they have always been for me at the more frivolous end of technology but the idea of using them successfully in a rooms with only a single PC is a good idea

[spannerman2]

Fair points and I think you've successfully distanced yourself from Spannerman's over-excitable posting and into a much more reasoned and logical discussion

 

Indeed!!..many thanks to all of you who have picked up this ball and run with it..I've learnt some interesting stuff reading all the posts..apologies for being a bit excitable, I don't do 'balanced'

[CAM]

We bought an electronic voting system, I nearly laughed at the idea of them. They were used a few times and I haven't seen them surface for years.

[teejay]

Indeed!!..many thanks to all of you who have picked up this ball and run with it..I've learnt some interesting stuff reading all the posts..apologies for being a bit excitable, I don't do 'balanced'

 

We like to be challenged and I do qute enjoy your blog, the only thing that grates on it is the negative attitude to ICT Technicians that you have, seeing them as the barrier to change and a hindrance.

As you can see from this thread, we do embrace change, the problem is most of us have had expensive change enforced on us by SLT/LEA/Consultants that has turned into a complete failure for the simple reason they didn't bother to talk to school ICT Technicians/Network Managers in the early stages of planning the project. This has left most of us battle scarred and with a slight twitch

[Arthur]

iFixit have taken a brand new Samsung ChromeBook apart...

 

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung-Series-5-3G-Chromebook-Teardown/5939/1

[Arthur]

Researchers poke gaping holes in Google Chrome OS

 

Google has billed its Chrome operating system as a security breakthrough that's largely immune to the threats that have plagued traditional computers for decades. With almost nothing stored on its hard drive and no native applications, there's no sensitive data that can pilfered and it can't be commandeered when attackers exploit common software vulnerabilities.

 

But according to two researchers who spent the past few months analyzing the Chrome-powered Cr-48 beta released in December, the browser-based OS is vulnerable to many of the same serious attacks that afflict people surfing websites. As a result, users remain susceptible to exploits that can intercept email, documents, and passwords stored on centralized servers, many of which are maintained by Google.

 

“Even though they put these awesome security protections in place, we're just moving the security problems to the cloud now,” Matt Johansen, a researcher with WhiteHat Security, told The Register. “We're moving the software security problem that we've been dealing with forever to the cloud. They're doing a lot of things right, but it's not the end all and be all for security.”

 

Virtually all of the threats identified by Johansen and his WhiteHat colleague Kyle Osborn stem from Chrome's reliance on extensions, which are essentially web-based applications. A fair number of the extensions they analyzed contain XSS, or cross-site scripting, bugs, which have the potential to inject malicious code and content into a visitor's browser and in some cases steal credentials used to authenticate user accounts.

[Arthur]

Google Now Lets Businesses & Schools Buy Chromebooks Without Subscriptions

 

Google announced today that its business and educational customers now have a second option for purchasing its new Chrome OS-powered laptops: upfront pricing, sans subscription. Previously, Chromebooks were only available to these institutions by way of a 3-year commitment. That plan didn’t fit in well with some organization’s yearly budget cycle, says Google.

 

Now, those customers can choose whether to buy Chromebooks on a subscription basis or just pay for the laptops up front.

 

The new option provides schools and businesses with access to the Web-based administration console for Chromebook management, phone support and hardware warranty coverage. After the first year, customers can opt to pay a monthly fee for management access and support.

 

The new prices are as follows:

 

Education:

• 1-Year Upfront: $449 (Wi-Fi), $519 (3G)
  
• Years 2-3: $5/month per Chromebook for management & support
  

Business:

• 1-Year Upfront: $559 (Wi-Fi), $639 (3G)
  
• Years 2-3: $13/month per Chromebook for management & support
  

In addition, Google says the management console itself has been updated, too, with better deployment, customization and asset management options, including integration with Group Policy and the ability to track Chromebook shipments.

[Arthur]

It appears that not a lot of people are buying ChromeBooks in the UK. Google are currently selling around 2,000 per month.

 

The latest reports we’ve seen, show that Google Chromebooks have now sold over 10,000 units in the UK. In total. (Source)

[localzuk]

It appears that not a lot of people are buying ChromeBooks in the UK. Google are currently selling around 2,000 per month.

 

Not surprised. They're overpriced for what they offer.

[CyberNerd]

Not surprised. They're overpriced for what they offer.

 

definitely - and it's so easy to knock up something with similar functionality at a fraction of the price.

[Arthur]

Interesting quotes from a recent DigiTimes article (particularly the second one)...

 

Google pushing Chrome OS for PCs; vendors give it the cold shoulder

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt, at speech in Taiwan on November 9, promoted Chrome OS in high-profile for the PC market, but PC players are rather pessimistic about the idea and believe if Google wants to cut into the PC market, the company will need to provide more resources and support. During his speech, Schmidt mentioned several times about Chrome OS' advantages such as fast boot up, no virus issues and free of charge, and prompted PC players to give Chrome OS a try.

 

However, due to demand for Chrome OS-based devices (Chromebooks) being lower than expected, PC players are taking a passive attitude toward opening projects. In June 2011, Acer and Samsung launched their Chromebooks ahead of other PC brand vendors, but by the end of July, Acer had reportedly only sold 5,000 units and Samsung was said to have had even lower sales than Acer, according to sources from the PC industry. However, Acer has declined to comment.

 

Analyzing Chromebooks' difficult situation, the sources pointed out that although Google is mainly pushing Chromebooks in the enterprise market, its Google Docs applications cannot meet the needs the enterprise users.

 

Meanwhile, since Chromebooks' major advantage is their cloud computing capability allowing users to use online document processing tools, if users are at a location without Internet connection or have poor connection quality, the advantage becomes a disadvantage of the device, noted the sources, adding that cloud computing is the trend of the future, but Chromebook is currently still too idealized. (Source, Via)

 

If Google Docs cannot meet the needs the enterprise users, can it meet the needs of schools?

[CyberNerd]

If Google Docs cannot meet the needs the enterprise users, can it meet the needs of schools?

 

With the exception of database tools for A-Level it is definitely meeting the requirements of our school, indeed the collaborative features surpass what is possible with traditional MSOffice/Libreoffice installations.There are already a lot of enterprise customers using google docs and I'd be interested to know what features they find lacking.

[Arthur]

I agree that the collaborative features are excellent, as is the ability to easily retrieve data from the web e.g. the ImportXML() function in spreadsheets, Google Image Search from within the document you are working on etc.

 

However, there are some features which Google Docs lacks compared to the usual desktop office apps. For example, you can't use locally installed fonts; use custom/non-standard paper sizes; import vector-based graphics created in programs such as Illustrator/InkScape; position images, drawings and other objects precisely on the page; accessing data stored on your clipboard is a pain (due to browser security), or create interactive forms using anything other than the default set of controls e.g. you can't have more than one set of checkboxes per row.

[Arthur]

Anyone thinking of getting a ChromeBox?

 

http://i.imgur.com/bg664.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/D6oTO.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/cNU8e.jpg

[fiendishlyclever]

Anyone thinking of getting a ChromeBox?

 

5 usb ports on a chromebox? They'll come in handy....

Edited March 10, 2012 by ChrisH

[jamesfed]

Is that dual display ports + the DVI port?

[Arthur]

It's nice to see Google & Samsung actually using ports from this century, instead of VGA from the Triassic period.

[Freedom]

Strange I count 6 USB ports

 

And yes, that is DVI & 2 * DisplayPorts - interesting combo

[dave.81]

Have to say this interests me more than the Chromebook, be interesting to see prices after release.

[jamesfed]

Am I the only one who thinks its kinda like a Thin Client but the applications are hosted by Google instead of on your local system?

 

Might be missing out something here though!

[aboell]

Our school is starting to take the Chromebook plunge. The key for us was the day-long battery life and 10 second boot time. While true, as mentioned in many prior comments, that these are a thin-client that will not be able to meet the need of businesses, they do meet the need for 90% of what our students do at school. For the remaining 10%, we will still maintain fat-client labs, but are looking into HTML5 RDP solutions to move all that processing to the server. We just ordered our first cart today and if our trial goes well, will be ordering another 6 carts for next year, then hopefully another 6-9 the following year.

[alttab]

Our school is starting to take the Chromebook plunge. The key for us was the day-long battery life and 10 second boot time. While true, as mentioned in many prior comments, that these are a thin-client that will not be able to meet the need of businesses, they do meet the need for 90% of what our students do at school. For the remaining 10%, we will still maintain fat-client labs, but are looking into HTML5 RDP solutions to move all that processing to the server. We just ordered our first cart today and if our trial goes well, will be ordering another 6 carts for next year, then hopefully another 6-9 the following year.

 

i must say i'm a bit perplexed by the chromebook thing. they seem to be a bit inbetween, better than netbook boot time but not better than tablet instant-on. better than top android tablet w/keyboard pricing but not better on price than a lower end netbook functioning as a web and 'rdp client'.

 

plus you don't have the option of falling back to using the device locally if working via rdp/ica isn't available, as you would with a netbook running xp or win7.

 

although i guess anyone would be hard pushed to find any notebook with those key specs of screen size, weight, and battery life for less than £300 [assuming you ignore the other stuff about it not being an pentium/i3 running windows]. So maybe in that respect it has hit a price sweet spot for those with the right infrastructure to make it work for them.

[nicholab]

The main thing is that IT is still not in most schools cost model like the buildings are!!

[aboell]

Your summary is spot on; it has hit a sweet spot with functionality/features vs cost. I am playing around with it to see exactly what type of offline functionality it may have. From what I've seen so far, the breaking point seems to be on the login; without an Internet connection you cannot log in. But once logged in, you still have minimal functionality. My hope is that in the event that users are already logged in and we lose Internet connectivity (but maintain wireless connectivity to local resources) that students could still access local, in-house servers. Since we host our own Moodle and SIS servers, we won't be completely down in the classroom.

 

Google also is supposed to be working on offline versions of Docs, so once they figure that out it will add an additional layer of offline functionality, but that's most likely only going to work if the users are already logged on. I highly doubt Google will release a local accounts caching server; they just assume that everyone has rock solid Internet connections.

 

I am also trying to experiment with installing another OS on it just in case Google drops the project. So far I personally haven't had any luck but I have read that others have. If I can get it to work, then I won't be stuck with a bunch of paper weights if they pull the Chromebook project and quit maintaining the OS and updates.