Hardware for Homeschooling Part III – ChromeOS

So we’ve looked at a the two core options available to most for homeschooling computer hardware.  Windows and MacOS seem to be the primary options, but there are some new options coming on the market that are worth consideration.

The most notable at this time is ChromeOS.  ChromeOS is a product put out by Google and it has a lot of great advantages along with some critical shortcomings.  Let’s take a look at both to see if ChromeOS is worth a considering for you and your family.

At its release, ChromeOS was designed to work with specific apps available only through the Chrome App Web Store.  It was designed to leverage the web for everything including storage.  This meant that the hardware needs were very minimal while maintaining reasonable performance.  Additionally, all the apps and data were directly tied to the user’s Gmail account.  This made the platform ideal for educational purposes.  It was inexpensive, some devices costing just over $100, easily replaceable, and highly mobile.  But, apps were slow to come and ultimately, never really manifested, significantly limiting the usefulness of the platform.  If you were content to mostly work through web apps, have little to no local storage, and had a constant internet connection, then ChromeOS was not a bad option for a utility device.  But things started to change early 2018.

Google, very wisely, decided to turn ChromeOS into a full-fledged platform and opened up compatibility with the entire Android Library of apps.  This immediately vaulted ChromeOS, previously limited due to minimal support and lack of apps, to one of the most supported platforms on the planet.  In turn, manufacturers like Samsung, Lenovo, Acer, HP, and Google, embraced the new opportunity to not only create hardware to leverage the new opportunity, but to create top shelf hardware.  It really changed the dynamic for those who wanted to use ChromeOS as an alternative to Windows and MacOS.

The shift was pretty dramatic.  Google led the way with their Pixelbook product that starts at a steep $1000 for the base model.  Granted, the design and build quality, along with the hardware and capabilities, far exceed other models and rivals flagship products like the Microsoft Surface and MacBook Pro.  Samsung produced several top-end units like the Samsung Chromebook Plus and Pro.  I’m currently using the Chromebook Plus V2 to compose this article.  Pricing comes in from the $500 mark up to the $1600 mark on the extreme high end (Google Pixelbook i7).  At these price points, a “good” Chromebook exceeds the price of a mid-range Windows PC, putting them in an interesting position, mitigating perhaps their most appealing advantage which was cost.

This starts to really muddy the waters on the viability and usability of ChromeOS as a primary operating system platform.  There’s no cost advantage. Support and application availability are still in their infancy as compared to MacOS and Windows.  So why would anyone take ChromeOS seriously?

There are some very good reasons actually.  The first reason for me is security.  ChromeOS is, to date, not susceptible to malware and ransomware.  This is huge, especially considering the ease to which computers, specifically Windows computers, are compromised today.  Add to this the fact that we are discussing how to incorporate technology into education, and the risk goes up simply due to the lack of experience on the part of the users.  MacOS provides a very good shield for security, but the hardware is generally two to three times the cost which only makes it viable for a few that have the financial wherewithal to afford it.  

Beyond security, there is the portability of the physical hardware as well as the user’s apps and content that’s tied to their Google account.  Generally speaking, the average Chromebook is designed to give the user a full day of unplugged use in a wide range on environments.  I’ll use my experience with the Samsung Plus V2 as an example. 

I purchased this device yesterday and started looking at it last night around dinnertime.  I worked on it for a couple of hours before calling it a night and then resumed this morning.  Today was my “day off” so it was a “putter in front of the TV and hang out with the Family” day.  I just used the Chromebook for all my “work” today which went as follows:

  • Setup all my secondary email accounts and make sure they were working. You really don’t want to know how many accounts I monitor.
  • Correspond to several clients and customers throughout the day on multiple accounts.
  • Compose this article using Microsoft Word (Office is a compatible suite of apps on Chromebook, including Outlook. If you have Office 365, you can load office on your Chromebook as part of your account.  We’ll look at subscription software in another article.  Spoiler alert: MS Office365 is perhaps the best value, period.  Man have things changed!)
  • Write copy for a video release
  • Edit a video, simple edit to the front. Added a disclaimer to the video for the YouTube release.
  • Edit multiple images
  • A little on-line banking and bill pay
  • Tested a dozen or so apps for usability on this platform

I purposefully pushed the platform as hard as I reasonably could and there were times that there was a noticeable hesitation.  But, the reality is that I would normally be using my big iMac, $3400 MacBook pro, or my $1000+ 17” Dell to do this kind of work.  And, I was able to operate at a better than respectable clip on a $600 Chromebook.  Most of the day, I did so unplugged.  I stressed it for about 7 hours pretty hard and plugged in with 35% battery still left.  On average I had 10 to 12 apps open with 15+ tabs going in the Chrome browser and it just kept chugging along. 

A screenshot with the variety of apps opened at once

Personally, I would not want to give up my MacBook Pro as it’s just a monster of a computer and for serious video editing, I would not want to work on anything other.  With that said however, I would much rather toss my $600 Chromebook into my bag and head off to a client vs hauling my $3400 MacBook Pro around.  I would MUCH rather let my daughter learn basic computing skills on something like a Chromebook that’s relatively inexpensive, easily replaceable, extremely resilient, and wonderfully transportable, than be constantly wondering how to keep her safe on Windows. 

It is a big decision.  Fortunately, regardless of what you decide, we’ll be here to help you navigate the best way to incorporate technology into your everyday education plan.  Like Megan says, “Start Somewhere.”  If you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via the contact us form on our site.  And be sure to check out my other technology articles listed here too.

By Rick Eutsler, Jr