Google, Samsung or Acer never told us how many Chromebooks they sold. I am assuming (along with many others around me) that those numbers weren’t so great. But here is an interesting number that they can be proud of.
Google has made a deal with three US school districts to put 27,000 Chromebooks in class rooms. For those who need detailed numbers,
- Council Bluffs Community School District in Iowa is planning a Chromebook 1:1 Initiative for all 2,800 students in their two high schools and will use an additional 1500 Chomebooks in their two middle schools
- Leyden Community High School District in Illinois will roll out devices to 3,500 students in their two high schools
- Richland School District Two in South Carolina is going 1-to-1 with a total of 19,000 students
iPad or Chromebooks, Whats’s Good for Class Rooms?
Reading through this news, a big question popped up in my head. iPad or Chromebook, which will be more useful in a class room?
Apple recently announced their new software and iTunes version for popularizing Digital books. Reports say that they got a really good initial response with loads of downloads.
Google had great hopes of popularizing Chromebooks in Schools and Universities. They included a subscription for schools along with one for Business when they launched commercial Chromebooks. With both Google and Apple eyeing on this huge market where technology has a lot more scope and business potential, which device will win?
Content Creation and Content Consumption
I just finished reading the book “Steve Jobs”. It says, a criticism iPad received during it’s initial days was that its for “content consumption” and not “content creation”. iPad was great for reading, watching movies or listening to music, but it was not suitable for those who generated content, or those who had to write a lot etc. The book says, Steve Jobs was trying to fill this gap in with iMovie and other apps when they launched iPad2.
But, did iPad2 transform itself to a great device for people who create content? I don’t think so! I am including students also in this “content creators” since you end up writing a lot and doing lot of browsing and researching while at school/college.
Reading digital/ebooks/interactive books can be done on Chromebooks too, and it is definitely a great tool for people who make content, yes, great for students too! Writing essays on an iPad or a Chromebook, which one is better?
Your thoughts please?
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- Businesses and Schools Can Now Buy Chromebooks Without Subscription Google’s way of marketing Chromebooks to Businesses and Schools was a subscription model bundled with Software and hardware upgrades. Now there are more options available with...
- Chromebook + Chrome OS Subscription – $20 p/m For Students $28 p/m in Offices Shortly after announcing commercial availability of Chrome OS devices named Chromebooks, Sundar Pichai announced Hardware + Software bundles on a subscription model, for Schools and Organizations. Just...
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Hard to say really, but I’m a bigger fan of the Chromebooks, and I HAVE to use a keyboard, not a virtual keyboard (which Ipads use obviously)
While I personally prefer chromebooks and Google products, in general, if an iPad can come with an attachable keyboard, how do we maintain the consumption v. creation distinction?
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