MacBook v laptop

[Anonymous]

I have a rising 7th grader who wants a MacBook. I know nothing of them and not sure how useful it will be for school. We always had PC or laptops. I know she can integrate her phone & iPad with MacBook. But she wants to use it for school things as well. Do school projects work well on Mac

[Anonymous]

A MacBook is a laptop.

We’ve had them forever (adults & kids) and have had great experiences with them.

[Anonymous]

Microsoft Office is available for Mac, either subscription or purchase outright as one prefers. File formats for MS Office applications are interoperable between Office for Windows and Office for Mac.

MacOS is UNIX (fyi - LINUX is also a kind of UNIX) under the hood, so it also is very suitable for programming if they happen to take a CS class.

Mac is NOT a good gaming computer. There are many more games available for Windows than for a Mac.

Ask if they would be happy with a MacBook Neo. It is good enough for high school users (but is not a work laptop). It is lower cost but still Apple quality at about $600. It has 8 GB of memory, but MacOS is memory efficient so that is good enough for home/school (for a work laptop with huge spreadsheets then 16GB would be better).

[Anonymous]

It should be fine to integrate with school stuff. A lot of online work may be in Schoology or maybe through Google Office suites, which are accessible on a Mac.

Something to keep in mind… I’ve heard they are discussing whether to allow students to bring personal devices to school next year.

[Anonymous]

Why can't she use her Chromebook from school for school projects? It has everything she needs. If she wants something different, it's so that she can bypass the school internet filter.

[Anonymous]

The school is not going to let a middle schooler have a personal device on the network all day with access to their chat and games unrestricted by the FCPS IT department.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The school is not going to let a middle schooler have a personal device on the network all day with access to their chat and games unrestricted by the FCPS IT department.

OP seemed to be considering getting one for a student to use from home. There was no indication student intended to take it to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can't she use her Chromebook from school for school projects? It has everything she needs. If she wants something different, it's so that she can bypass the school internet filter.

Someone connecting using any personal device (phone or whatever else) at home is never filtered by FCPS.

[Anonymous]

OP here this is for personal use only. I have always had non- Mac laptops. My kid wants to upgrade from the Chromebook she had for years to a Mac for personal use. Occasionally maybe for convenience she log in from home to school work. But she will use her school issue laptop at school and home.
I just wondering if it will be easy for her to adjust to MacBook. She has an iPhone & iPad already. She not a gamer but loves to do art projects and make videos

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here this is for personal use only. I have always had non- Mac laptops. My kid wants to upgrade from the Chromebook she had for years to a Mac for personal use. Occasionally maybe for convenience she log in from home to school work. But she will use her school issue laptop at school and home.

I just wondering if it will be easy for her to adjust to MacBook. She has an iPhone & iPad already. She not a gamer but loves to do art projects and make videos

Macs are much easier to use than Windows. I would be startled if switching would be a problem. They are very good for creative arts. Basic audio and video tools are included with every MacOs system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The school is not going to let a middle schooler have a personal device on the network all day with access to their chat and games unrestricted by the FCPS IT department.

My son already has unrestricted access. The filters don’t work most of the time and they use proxies

That being said, FCPS is encouraging BYOD: https://www.fcps.edu/services/technology/technology-programs/bring-your-own-device-byod

I am considering this because I can install my own parental control apps. I’m trying to decide on the Neo vs M4 Air.

[Anonymous]

I've been told that MacBooks will no longer be allowed to use as a personal device at school next year. This is due to the ease of cheating on MacBooks.

[Anonymous]

Always a Mac. They are just better. If she’s arty, then it’s a definite winner.
I can’t imagine a school would ban Macs. That’s insane. What school is this??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been told that MacBooks will no longer be allowed to use as a personal device at school next year. This is due to the ease of cheating on MacBooks.

This is just so factually untrue. Not easier to cheat on Mac than it is on Windows (or than on Linux). Totally bogus claim.

I disbelieve the post quoted above.

[Anonymous]

I am going to ban Macs in my own classroom next year, because kids used them as phones and mirrored their iPhones and spent the whole class texting friends. I haven’t seen it on non Mac laptops, but if it happens there I’ll make it be school computer only so I can block and monitor with lightspeed.