Virtual Learning Network

Replies

• • Hazel Smith@HazelSmith17

  

  Hazel Smith (View all users posts) 31 Aug 2015 6:59pm (1774 days ago)

  Hi Lynne,

  I have recently deployed chromeboxes across the school.

  Pros

  For us they have been a great value for money  at around $200 each and a great opportunity to get more devices into classrooms. We have previously struggled with our ratio of devices to students and these have just made it possible to drastically improve that ratio.

  We are a GAFE school so they are working just like our chromebooks...but so much more robust.

  So they fit in with what the kids already know and they aren't another type of device to learn about.

  Finally...we are loving them as an enviro school.....because it has allowed us to up-cycle our old screens...that i had stored away and was slowly selling on trade me. They live again!!

  Cons...they take up wall space

  Cheers

  Hazel

   

• • Mark Edwards@Mark.Edwards

  

  Mark Edwards (View all users posts) 01 Sep 2015 7:46am (1774 days ago)

  Hi Hazel,

   

  would love to know where you got a chromebox for $200, I have always thought they would be a great idea but the price point compared to a chromebook made them pointless when you get a screen with a chromebook for around the same price.

   

  Mark

• • Steve Trotter@Steve.Trotter

  

  Steve Trotter (View all users posts) 31 Aug 2015 8:29pm (1774 days ago)

  Hi Lynne,

  I have never used a Chromebox in a school, but wish we had have gone down this route a couple of years back....

  We had 50 odd Windows XP machines that did not have enough RAM to run Windows 7 or higher.  We considered connecting a Chromebox to these machines - would have been $10 000. This was deemed too pricey so decided to set up a Terminal Server and run the computers as Thin Clients. Cost for this was minimal, only a few hundred for licences, but the technician costs to roll this out ended up being huge - and even when it was implemented we have had continual issues that led to us getting rid of most of the machines all together! 

  Hindsight is a great thing, I am sure if we had have purchased Chromeboxes instead they would still be in use!