Chrome will bring about the ICT revolution in schools

http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/spannermans-edublog/2011/05/chrome-will-bring-about-the-ict-revolution-in-schools/index.htm

by dreemteem • 15 years ago

7 12 15 years ago

blogs.computerworlduk.com

stephenr5• 15 years ago

Finally with the instant-on Chrome-book the domain-logon palaver looks like the anachronistic time goblin it is.

With auto-saving, no more losing of USB sticks, no more 12 min network bootups, the ability to share files and fewer confusing features most of the hassle of ICT in schools is eliminated.

Oh of course, a student waiting a few seconds to logon to a server is clearly wasting too much of their time, and IT departments are just going to _love_ the loss of control over the devices they currently have.

"auto-saving" and "no more losing USB sticks" in the cotext of Google Docs, means a complete lack of control over the backup of said documents, and inability to work on said documents offline.

No software licences, no maintenance technicians (no viruses no, disk quotas, no application/file servers, no software images).

Because the web apps that a netbook uses, are mythical beasts that have no licensing or maintenance requirements, and store data down gumdrop lane, because they're powered by the good thoughts of Google users, not physical servers?

wccrawford3• 15 years ago

Google is a lot better at maintenance than any school sysadmin will ever be. And they've got the infrastructure for it, too.

As for working offline, the offline-capable version of Mail, Calendar and Docs is coming soon. http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/11/offline-gmail/

stephenr5• 15 years ago

Google is a lot better at maintenance than any school sysadmin will ever be.

Not necessarily. Even Premium (i.e. PAID) Google Apps users have had issues with feedback/error resolution with things like missing/corrupted docs, and there is nothing more they can do. When I worked in the IT Dept. of a Tertiary education institute, it was not unheard of for students/staff to contact the department manager if they were not satisfied, or even write to the Minister for the Education Department.

If they did the same thing under a Google/Netbook setup, there is nothing to say the IT department (which will _STILL_ be required, they will just have their hands tied behind their back in terms of what they can do) could do _ANYTHING_ about the problem.

cleverjake3• 15 years ago

>>Oh of course, a student waiting a few seconds to logon to a server is clearly wasting too much of their time,

No, but setting up several hundred new freshman every year is a pain in the ass. One that took my school atleast a week to finish up when they did it by a (poorly written, im sure) batch script. Besides, one of the most important points of computers is automation. If adding a new system removes even 15 seconds from every new user, that can add up rather quickly in a large school.

>>and IT departments are just going to _love_ the loss of control over the devices they currently have.

What? What control do they loose are you referring to?

>Because the web apps that a netbook uses, are mythical beasts that have no licensing or maintenance requirements, and store data down gumdrop lane, because they're powered by the good thoughts of Google users, not physical servers?

have you been to a high school in the last ~5 years? Mine probably had ~90% uptime. Meaning it was down/unavailable for use 10% of the time. Multiple hours, almost every night. Godawful. Google is unarguably one of the most reliable web services there is, so, while the author was being a bit hyperbolic, it is almost certainly a stepup from any non-private middle/high school I've ever seen.

Seriously. its a good deal.

stephenr5• 15 years ago

I worked in a department that had a statewide eDirectory (45+ campuses spread across across hundreds of KMs), with students created every night. At the beginning of semesters, it would be creating thousands of new accounts every night. It had a few hiccups, sure, but it was automated. How do you think the Google Apps accounts are going to be setup? Google isn't some magical beast that telepathically knows all the students in a school.

Just because the IT at the school you were at was run by idiots doesn't mean they all are.

* What? What control do they loose are you referring to? *

When you manage services locally - i.e. desktop/laptops with directory services, file&print, email handled internally, YOU (that is, IT) decides what users can do. They can stop users from installing random Apps, or visitng porn/non-educational sites, and do things like prevent students from printing war and peace fifty times just for giggles.

* have you been to a high school in the last ~5 years? Mine probably had ~90% uptime. * again, one bad school doesn't mean the rest are the same. Multiple hours of downtime per night is not the norm - we didn't even have that kind of downtime when we migrated every single networked device in the state into a new Directory Services tree. Sounds like your school needs new IT staff, not an external provider. Incompetent staff will f*ck up anything they're given.

trotsky• 15 years ago

To what degree does chromeOS and google docs contribute to the google intelligence/profiling that they do on every user for ad targeting? Does the educational program opt out of it? Over a few years time would google be developing a full profile of the student including what classes they took when, and perhaps even how well they're doing through reading level analysis etc? Is that kind of thing something we really want to push on our children?

Chrome will bring about the ICT revolution in schools

Related Stories