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/ 

See him discuss disruptive innovation further at www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5FxFfymI4g .

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?

·         http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en/us/intl/en/chrome/assets/education/pdf/IDC-WP-Quantifying.the.Economic.Value.of.Chromebooks.for.K-12.Education-082012.pdf

·         http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2012/12/why-schools-are-turning-google-chromebooks

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.computerworld.com/s/article/9232800/Gartner_s_Top_10_tech_trends_for_2013

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240176063/Gartner-predicts-the-demise-of-the-desktop-PC-refresh-cycle

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/documents/suptrecrpt2013.pdf   (see particularly pgs. 29-30 re “adaptive” or computer-based)

http://www.edsource.org/today/2012/parents-teachers-can-now-sample-common-core-test-questions/21651#.UP1_Eyd9J8E

http://toped.svefoundation.org/2011/03/11/big-promises-for-new-tests/

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.