What to buy for middle school: laptop or tablet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12:22 here again.

I should note, my Dad is a retired IBM developer and I had him review the Chromebook with me before we got it for DS. My Dad is very old school but even he thought this little Chromebook was amazing. Its a BARGAIN and yet absolutely perfect for a middle and highschooler's needs.

It has been PERFECT for DS.

OP here -- thanks for your suggestion! I had not considered a Chromebook but will look into it. It's certainly cheaper than the Samsung combo Windows 8 device I am currently considering.

I am so glad. I have been raving about it to all the parents I know. I thinks it's the perfect device for the things our kids do the most - writing and researching/surfing the Internet. And it has built in safety since you dont download anything onto it. I know lots of school use google docs because it allows teachers and students to collaborate, basically access the document and make edits, corrections, notes, etc... It's the hot platform in schools right now. Plus everything is moving to the cloud. When I was looking into it I read a mediocre review on Wired or some on line computer site. It was a criticism of the google os though, not the Chromebook. Google has already made improvements since then. DS loves it and has yet to hit any obstacles to anything he needs to do on it. Lets us know what you end up getting.

Can you tell me a little more about the Chromebook? I have a 13 year old and would like to get him something for homework and his general use. Is the only difference between it and a computer that you cant download anything? Can you tell me a bit more about Cloud, I'm unfamiliar.

Someone else I know recommended the Nexus 7.

I'm the PP that asked about the Nexus 7 vs the chromebook. Checked with a couple friends who all though the chromebook was a much better device for doing homework use.

[Anonymous]

Sorry - mom who's DS has a Chromebook. Forgot to check back. The benefits are its very lightweight like a tablet but built like a laptop so has a separate keyboard. It connects to the Internet thru wifi and the "cloud" is cloud computing. That is using all applications on line rather than on the actual laptop/computer. So, instead of having a document drafting application on your computer, like Word, you go on line to Googke docs to write, edit and save your document. You can then access that document from any computer, like one a school, and work on the document whenever and wherever you need to and other people you let access it, like your English teacher, can edit and comment on it to. It's called document collaboration. Every application or piece of software you use is on line, or in the cloud, and that is where you store everything. Your Chromebook is kind of like a terminal. The drawbacks are for highly sensitive materials. The security of "the cloud" is obviously not as easy to guarantee as its not just on your hard drive. now hardcsrives can be corrupted of course and "the cloud" should nto be able to be corrupted becuase of all the redundancy. some people are just not quite ready to trust it is secure enough to allow one to store identity sensitive things like tax returns or personal medical information. But, for the everyday purposes of writing and research and homework it is totally secure. Also it can access any type of program you need to use because it uses the program on line. It is much safer and less expensive to do it this way.

Does that help?

[Anonymous]

Yes, thank you!

[Anonymous]

I've been thinking about this very same topic for my rising 7th grader. I'm absolutely going to look into Chromebook - thanks for the suggestion!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been thinking about this very same topic for my rising 7th grader. I'm absolutely going to look into Chromebook - thanks for the suggestion!

Happy to help. Ever since DS got it for Christmas I have been so delighted at how perfect it is for his needs. And for such a nice price. Honestly, it would pretty much meet my needs as well.

A few more details I thought of: DS uses two e-mails, one gmail and the other through our internet provider, Verizon. He can access both remotely, so through his Chromebook or from another computer/tablet. Because kids tend to "misplace" things, the Chromebook (or really cloud computing) is great because, even if your DS or DD loses his/her Chriomebook (or leave it at school or a friend's house!) they can still get online to work on their document, check e-mail, look at school notes, etc... because it is all stored on-line in what we now call the cloud. Plus, as opposed to a tablet, the physical keyboard makes it easier to type.

[Anonymous]

tablets can be slow. My son has a microsoft surface and it can not keep up with his typing (and he is not a particularly fast typist). On the plus side, it is very light and portable.

[Anonymous]

?? Bring Your Own Device?

We have one computer in the house, a traditional one (flatscreen though, so all is not lost on us, lol) with a tower. Is the school offering to pay for totable devices for students who share one computer in a household? or are all kids around here just spoiled with their own devices?

[Anonymous]

In middle and high school kids need their own computer they can take to school. It's not spoiled in today's world. It is necessary and very common. My work and DH's gives us both laptops. I have an iPad too. We got rid of the desk top years ago.

Potomac is the only school I know of that gives every kid their own laptop for the year. Funded by Leonsis. Not a good enough reason to pick Potomac IMO but still a cool program. Every school we toured (middle school age and up) had kids sitting in class with lap tops and tablets.