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I personally think that managing Chromebooks is at least a little easier than other computers, but I see your point that Windows isn't that much worse. There's
by wilsonnb 8y ago
I personally think that managing Chromebooks is at least a little easier than other computers, but I see your point that Windows isn't that much worse.
There's something to be said for Chromebook specs, though. I still have a Samsung Chromebook with a Samsung ARM processor from 2012 and 2GB ram. Using Windows on that machine would be painful. ChromeOS ain't gonna break any speed records but it's actually quite usable still.
Also, they should be using G Suite for education which doesn't serve ads and don't use user data for ad profiles.
The privacy notice says that they collect:
- device information, such as the hardware model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, and mobile network information including phone number of the user
- log information, including details of how a user used our service, device event information, and the user's Internet protocol (IP) address
- location information, as determined by various technologies including IP address, GPS, and other sensors
- unique application numbers, such as application version number
- cookies or similar technologies which are used to collect and store information about a browser or device, such as preferred language and other settings
None of that seems egregious to me.
Plus, Office collects information about you too.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/compat/data-that-the-telemetry-agent-collects-in-office https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/compat/data-th...
https://gsuite.google.com/terms/education_privacy.html https://gsuite.google.com/terms/education_privacy.html
- ocdtrekkie 8y agoIf I type in a Word document, the data is on the computer. If I type in a Google Doc, the data is on Google's servers. There is no equivalency here. Sure, Google can claim that they won't use it for specific purposes, but they can still use it for a lot of other things, and most crucially, they can change their policy at any time.
- wilsonnb 8y agoThat is true. They do encrypt it all at rest, though. Plus they are audited regularly by third parties. I actually use OneDrive for all of my Microsoft Office files even though I'm using the desktop suite, so keeping the document data in the cloud is far more of a feature in my eyes than an issue.
- jacksmith21006 8y agoBut it makes it so kids can use whatever machine each day. They just log in and everything is there.
- ocdtrekkie 8y agoThe same capability exists on more conventional online classwork systems that don't require sending data to Google's servers. And in reality, this doesn't even become an issue much in practice: Google heavily encourages the one-for-one model, where each student gets their own Chromebook. They make a lot more money on licensing that way.
- jacksmith21006 8y agoGoogle shared yesterday that CBs grew 50% YoY. So the CB way is definitely working. I am in the US and K12 is completely dominated by CBs. Personally I just love what Google has done for K12. I have 8 kids and all their info all liked to a Google Sheet and able to drill down with each kid to whatever detail I want. But the biggest thing Google brought is analytics. Never made sense to match up kids and teachers by gut. Google is revolutionizing the use of technology in the classroom. I have my doubts we will see Apple or MS come back in the classroom. Both owned the class room for decades and very quickly Google now completely dominates.
- wilsonnb 8y agoBack when I was in high school we just logged into a Windows account and stored our stuff in a private folder on the network that could be accessed from any computer.
- jacksmith21006 8y agoChromebooks make it much better. You can use whatever machine you want. Plus kept private from other users. Google shared yesterday that CBs grew 50% YoY. That is while Macs and Windows machines sold less YoY.