There's a really well written comment on
an article about Chromebooks being chosen for schools in NSW, which I thought was worth adding to this thread to support why they're a great choice in education, along with a note on where a Windows machine would still be preferable:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by SPM
There are two main reasons why schools have been adopting Chromebooks in the US.
The first is that the total cost of using Chromebooks is about 30% of the cost of using Windows - and the savings are increasing because hardware is dirt cheap nowadays whereas in developed countries IT labour costs are exorbitant. This is mainly down to the fact that there are massive labour cost savings on provisioning, maintenance, configuration, user authentication and user data management, updates and support. This is because Chromebooks are Zero Maintenance client devices - all device maintenance and updates are done automatically by Google and all applications are web apps and maintenance is done automatically by the app provider. Google provides the authentication server, and server back end services at zero cost in terms of hardware or labour. On top of that, Chromebooks are Zero Touch Administration Devices - which means that a system administrator never has to touch or log into a Chromebook - all management can be done centrally simply by using a website to set device and user configuration policies remotely. There is no need to ever image disks, log into the device to install applications and update its settings, or reinstall the OS - all these are done by setting device and user policies centrally. If the OS on the device ever gets corrupted or infected, the device automatically detects this on boot up and downloads an uncorrupted signed copy of the OS from Google HQ automatically and installs it. With a Chromebook, no preparation of the device is necessary - so you can have a Chromebook mailed to a school, and they can simply be handed out to students who would plug it into the charger and start working - all the settings configuration and configuration is downloaded and the user data is sitting there on the cloud. When one breaks down, you just get a new new one and plug it in.
The second reason is that it results in higher productivity for students and teachers. This is because it is simple to use, requiring little support, and requires little or no user maintenance or configuration functions. Teachers call it the "invisible operating system" because it stays out of the way, and simply lets teachers teach and students learn. It allows access to Google Apps for education, Youtube educational videos, and teacher/student, and group interaction within the school domain. It also allows students to access their work at home on other Internet connected computers if they are required to leave their computers at school, they have access to all school resources at home, and their work is always safe even if they lose their computer.
The Internet is the biggest repository of knowledge there is, so for knowledge and skills teaching in schools and universities, there is no better environment than a Chromebook. However if you are teaching low level technical skills in specific applications rather than knowledge skills - eg. courses like: Intermediate touch typing and MS Word skills, or Advanced AutoCAD drafting certification - then you really do need the applications you are teaching, and a Windows computer may be a better bet.
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