Miami-Dade BYOD

The Miami-Dade BYOD program probably needs to be revised. If it focuses on Microsoft or Apple like many BYOD programs, then an acknowledgement must take place that Google-Android-Chromebooks are a legitimate alternative to wasteful spending.

Parents can buy their kids three Chromebooks for the price of a Mac. Two for the price of a Windows PC. Or, if these parents have three kids, all of the students can own a device.

If you want Chromebooks to last longer than the Mac or PC options, add Cranium Chromebook Protection. Look for it on Amazon.

Is Coding With Kids on Chromebooks Worth the Cash in Sioux Falls?

Maybe a decade from now, people in Sioux Falls will be able to tell you how well the investment in code went at their elementary schools. If we could go back a decade, adding coding to elementary school lessons in kindergarten would be a no-brainer. The problem with adding it now is that maybe coding literally will require no human brainpower a decade from now. It's a gamble to spend $1.26 million on teaching code to K5, but the gamble makes more sense than getting them pee-wee tackle football uniforms and hoping they all go pro.

When I was studying at the School of Architecture at UW-Milwaukee, I was in the last class that learned how to draw by hand. The next year, every class would be on CAD. That's maybe the reverse of what we're talking about here, but it still makes sense as my general argument. Maybe ALMOST no one will be coding in a decade, but it can't really hurt to know it. Most of the students in my architecture classes, like me, never went on to be actual architects. But they all know how to draw. Even if all coding is automated in the future, it still might pay to know it.

As for right now, it would pay. I have been offered job opportunities that I could not take because my knowledge of coding is based on copying and pasting rather than studying. I know enough to get by with what I do, but I don't know enough to get hired. Instead, companies hire people with dubious degrees, often from overseas, because those people have the certificate that says they know more. Right now, coding is power in the workforce. In a decade, who knows, but it's still knowledge. While no one has ever asked me to draw a 3-D perspective since 1997, I can still do it.

If I was teaching a coding class or a CAD class, I'd want my students to use Chromebooks for their ease-of-use. That's assuming there's a web-based CAD program that would work on a Chromebook, but I know coding will work just fine. However, sometimes it pays to write or draw something. That's why I'd want each Chromebook to have a Cranium by Educabana . It's a cover, but it's also a whiteboard. A whiteboard is great for conceptual drawing or thinking. Jot it down and then work; revert back to it if you want. Start the class with images or equations or a code snippet. Write and learn--we still learn better with our hands and a writing utensil, so we should use those tools along with our Chromebooks and our coding programs.

Holy Smokes, Derby, It's Time For Chromebooks!

According to The Derby Informer, Derby Schools spent $221,000 repairing computers, AND another $90,000 replacing lost or stolen devices. Granted, these are overpriced Macs that will be replaced by Chromebooks, but OMG, anyhow. If you do the math, $221,000 divided by 6,800 students is $32.50 per student in repairs.

According to the article:

A screen replacement on an iPad can cost anywhere from $105 to $175. Derby Middle School had 311 damaged devices with an average repair cost of $300 totaling $93,233.98 in damage.

An AVERAGE REPAIR COST of $300. That's TWICE what I paid for my Chromebook that I use daily. Run away from IPads, quickly, Derby, Kansas.

The fine print about Chromebooks is that the screens DO break, too. They are cheap, plastic, and flexible. But at a 10% breakage rate and $200 cost, broken Chromebooks could be REPLACED each year for $136,000. Plus, those that are mysteriously lost and stolen can be replaced much cheaper, as well.

What if you wanted to decrease the breakage rate even more at Derby Middle School. (I've taught middle school, and I know what kids do, so that's where there are daily device olympics happening.) What if you could get that breakage rate down to 2%? Chromebooks break in the same way as other devices--mainly the screen. So a good screen protector, like the Cranium by Educabana, can stop most screen breakages. If the district's breakage rate was a mere 2% and repairs to the rest only cost about $100 (cheaper because they're Chromebooks and can be done in-house), then the district would only need to find $13,600 to repair the devices.

At $15 a piece, the Craniums, ordered in bulk, would cost the district $102,000 ONCE every five years (the lifespan of a Chromebook).

Let's put this into perspective: the current system would cost $1,105,000 over five years. Chromebooks with Craniums would cost around $170,000. Let's round up to $200,000 to be safe.

I know budgets are separate, but if we were to say a teacher costs $90,000 total compensation to employ, that's two teachers per year, plus change. If you get the budget teachers right out of college, that's three.

Wait, there's more. Craniums are also whiteboards. Math teachers, who will appreciate this post, understand that Chromebooks are not as good as paper at showing work, and paper is not as good as whiteboards for showing work to the teacher.

Moving from Mac to Chromebooks was a no-brainer. Using a Cranium with those Chromebooks is also a no-brainer. Use the contact form or order a test unit from Amazon today.

 In an added bonus, I live in Kansas, so I could bring my Chromebook over for a showing. The Chromebook was invented by an American from Wisconsin, and if you're interested in making America great again (or just saving your district money), then this is a wise investment. 

Green High School Students Need More Than Chromebook Insurance

If you are a parent of a student attending Green High School in Ohio, you might wonder why you have been asked to pay for insurance on Chromebooks. If it's like other districts, the cost is around $25 a year. Chromebook breakage rates are around 10%, making it a roulette game of sorts, especially if your kid has the device for four years.

Kids don't necessarily want to break Chromebooks. In fact, most students like them. But kids do grab them by the cover (so do I) and set things on top of them. They dislike bulky carrying cases, especially if the cool kids don't use them.

Apparently, staff members at Green High School have worked to fix some Chromebooks. That's a side job that overworked teachers probably appreciate a lot, but it's not their primary duty at the school. But you don't want to pay $100 over four years on a $203 device that will be obsolete by the time you pay your insurance on it.

How about Cranium by Educabana, which is a hard case cover that is permanent and protects against the leading cause of Chromebook failure--the flexible screen? For less than $20, you can turn that 10% chance of breakage into something more like 2%. Better yet, ask the school board to order them for all the Chromebooks and drop the insurance, only fixing the few that still break.

Wait, there's always more. Unlike all other Chromebook covers or cases, this one can be used as a whiteboard because of its white aluminum that surrounds the stiff PVC core. If you're interested in this innovative new Chromebook product, use the contact form on this page or check it out on Amazon.

BBCHS Should Equip All Chromebooks With Protection

Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School District 307 will be going to Chromebooks. More than likely, the district has considered protecting these devices. However, we have found that not all protection is the same.

Insurance plans work. Replacements take time, and the plan itself adds a cost to either parents or the district, which is basically the same thing. Companies that offer insurance do it to make money, so the rate is set based on normal breakage estimates.

Covers can stop many of the usual ways students will break the Chromebooks in Bradley, Illinois. However, soft cases are cumbersome, and students remove the devices every chance they get, especially at home.

Most hard cases are cheap plastic. They might protect the Chromebooks once or twice. But these are pretty, so students will only snap the plastic covers off once in a while. Again, some protection.

The Cranium by Educabana is the best solution as a cheap and simple screen flex protector. It also doubles as a whiteboard, which is great for teachers who don't want to use the computers every second of class.

Benton-Carroll-Salem Board of Education Asks Chromebook Questions

Students in the Benton-Carroll-Salem School District may not realize it, but they are in an enviable position because the school board has waited and asked questions about Chromebooks. The answers, while obvious, were not so clear only a couple of years ago. Chromebooks and G Suite are the future for educational devices. Future, in technology terms, means the next half decade, which is the life of the Chromebook, according to Google.

Don't worry, though, since all the desktops, laptops, and too-expensive Mac devices only last that long at 2-5 times the cost. Chromebooks require less service and maintenance. Just get the Cranium by Educabana and you're good.