Chromebook-if cheap cannot be good by Penelope Swenson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Chromebook--If it is
that cheap, it can’t be any good
Penelope Walters
Swenson
Background:
If sales figures and Gartner reports are an indicator, the
desktop is almost finished.
Laptops are the “big” computer, but the mobile devices are
the lightweight ones.
Tablet computing is big and getting bigger.
Instant on or always on is necessary, thus smartphones,
tablets, and similar are in demand.
Smartphones are getting larger and tablets smaller.
School computer labs are the dinosaurs of K-12, except in
specialized situations.
K-12 testing is moving from bubble in to more complex systems
that will be computer based and adaptive.
Data is in the cloud as is software.
WiFi is nearly ubiquitous.
(See related sites including Gartner reports below.)
Change for teachers, administrators, students, and even
parents is huge, yet many do not hear the harbingers, or they turn a deaf ear. I have even heard, “If it is that cheap, it
can’t be any good” applied to Chromebooks, Nexus7s, and even some
smartphones. Sometimes I feel like the
mother in that old commercial who says, with a smile, “Try it; you’ll like it.”
So where does the Chromebook fit?
The Chromebook is a disruptive innovation if one applies
Harvard Business School expert Dr. Clayton Christensen’s definition.
Disruptive innovation. . . describes a process by which a
product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of
a market and then relentlessly moves up market, eventually displacing
established competitors. http://www.claytonchristensen.com/key-concepts/
The Chromebook is a hit with teachers and administrators—or
at least, some. Inexpensive and highly
mobile, the Chromebook may be a major answer to providing online testing
stations and computer savvy for our students—IF.
Is the Chromebook as versatile as a laptop? No.
Will it perform well the essential functions needed in the K-12
market? Yes. Is it less expensive? By far.
Is it displacing competitors? Oh
yes. One need only to look at the
teacher-oriented grants pages such as
DonorChoose.com. Thousands of
Chromebooks are being requested. (A
personal aside—I just gave away my much loved netbook in favor of the
Chromebook. I’ll deal with the
limitations because for every limitation there is a positive and there are many
cost savings. )
Why?
Chromebook
|
Laptop
|
Tablet
|
|
price
|
$199-249 (common)
Class set under $8000
|
$800 and up
Class set $24,000
|
$199, $329, $500
Class set $8 to 20,000
|
Speed to web
|
Instant
|
3 or more minutes
|
instant
|
Speed to software
|
30 seconds
|
2-3 minutes
|
30 seconds
|
Storage
|
May be 300gig on board or just
flash memory plus cloud
|
300 gig or so onboard
|
Limited flash memory + cloud
|
Software
|
Google Apps, other paid or free
apps
|
Paid software
|
Apps paid and free
|
Camera
|
Front only
|
Front only
|
Front or front and back
|
Weight
|
2.4 lbs.
|
5-6 lbs.
|
8-16 oz
|
Size
|
thinner than laptop
|
generally thick
|
thin, smaller than laptop
|
Keyboard
|
Part of unit
|
Part of unit
|
virtual
|
Case
|
Opens like laptop
|
Standard
|
Must purchase protector
|
Screen size
|
12”
|
12” to 17”
|
7, 7.9, 10
|
Need wifi?
|
Generally although some offline
options
|
Depends on task
|
Generally although some offline
options
|
Ease of sharing
|
Individual login automatic
|
May setup individual virtual
drives
|
Works if saving in the cloud
|
Maintenance costs
|
Very low * (see articles below)
|
Varies
|
Low
|
What else should be here?
|
Time for training on Google Apps as they are the major
software? I watched an experienced
professional developer/teacher take a group of teachers through a fast paced
training with many opportunities to create documents. In about 75 minutes the teachers created,
manipulated, and shared
- 1. Google Document, like a standard Word doc, selecting fonts, highlights, etc.
- 2. Google Presentation, like PPT
- 3. Google Form—Windows Office has no equivalent—this may be used for surveys, tests, worksheets, etc. Data is saved in a spreadsheet automatically. Teachers created one and shared it so they could see how the data was gathered.
- 4. Started designing a Google Site—also without an equivalent in Office. Within this they briefly explored the Google Calendar.
There are youtube videos for refreshers. There are many Google Apps trainers. Ours,
Stacey Stansberry, is excellent and she is part of the ed tech team at
our county office of education. Google
Apps use fairly standard symbols and options familiar to users of the various office
suites. The only “radically new” items
are Forms and Sites. And those are
simply wonderful.
With most of the apps, very little training is needed
although it is fun to do this together.
It also gives a jumpstart to the process of getting familiar and having
buddies who are becoming comfortable with this great array of free tools. Most users of Word and PPT just dive in
without looking back. (It is no wonder
that many schools are giving up Office in favor of these free options.)
I recently saw a situation play out where some decided to
forgo having a class set of Chromebooks in favor of having fewer than 10
laptops. Familiarity with old technology
often constrains people from moving forward.
It really is too bad. The
students suffer and the new assessment programs will be nearly impossible to
administer. The individuals who did the
research were ready to go, but the proposal was derailed. So seldom do schools have the opportunity to
take a giant step forward in technology.
But, for many, it is scary.
It would seem that being able to mount a class project on
one platform at one time would outweigh trying to do the same project three
times while keeping the other 20 students doing meaningful reading or
seatwork. Not all caught that
vision.
Chromebooks are a disruptive technology. For the price of one laptop plus software,
three or four Chromebooks can be in the hands of kids. Seems like a great idea whose time has come
in many schools, while others stay on the sidelines holding on to yesterdays. Will there be something better tomorrow? Undoubtedly, but today, the “hot” less
expensive but highly functional option is Chromebooks for the entire
class.
(I really like my iPad and my Nexus 7 too, but for ease of
use, test taking, and general student use, the Chromebook is a bargain!)
Years ago, I was hesitating to upgrade to a new version of
my wonderful word processing program. My
visionary secretary just did the upgrade for me while I was out of the
office. After 10 minutes of grumbling, I
was on my way. She pushed me a bit and I
learned a great lesson. Tech is
moving. We need to also.
Change in marketplace and use of devices plus new testing
processes:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/documents/suptrecrpt2013.pdf
(see particularly pgs. 29-30 re “adaptive”
or computer-based)
Disclaimer—I do
not work for Google, Asus, or any other manufacturer of Chromebooks. Initially, I too was skeptical, but bought
one from my personal resources to be more conversant as they are gaining
popularity.
