Middle School Laptop

[nfceagles]

My DS will be heading to 7th and middle school this year. The school uses Chromebooks and has enough for every kid so you aren't required to bring your own, but you can't take them home and you don't use the same one everyday (you just grab one from a cart). Because of DS's serious allergies and so he has it for homework at home (we have a desktop that the kids sometimes fight over) I'm thinking of buying DS his own to take to school. I'd rather not buy a Chromebook though. I just feel like if I'm going to spend the money that I'd rather pay a little more and get a Windows laptop so it can do other things too (Minecraft, Leto Mindstorms, etc...).

A couple key considerations.
1) Will the battery last the whole school day? Don't the chromebooks have the same issue?
2) Is there a certain operating system or settings that will boot up quickly like Chromebooks do?

Anybody with prior experience using laptops at school have any input? I'm not look to buy an expensive machine, but neither is budget a critical issue. Thanks!


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[JBaxter]

My last 2 kid laptops were hp's from Costco both whew under 500 I think 450 ish they work well. Mine don't take them to,school I can't imagine thy don't have plug in capabilities with the laptop requirement

[sariana]

Will the school even allow that? In order to be used at school, it wil have to access the school's/district's wi-fi. One of the reasons schools like Chromebooks is that the Enterprise version is easy to use. It's relatively easy to add a student's personal CB to the system. That may not be the case with a personal PC. I would check with the school or district before buying something else.

Also be aware that GAFE will work differently on a PC. The school may use certain apps, extensions, or add-ons that are designed to integrate smoothly with a CB and may or may not work as well (or at all) on a PC.

It might be better to keep the PC at home. What is the issue with allergies? Residual allergens on the CB? Maybe you could arrange with the school for him to have a dedicated CB at school that no one else touches.

It's possible that none is the above that I mentioned would be an issue at all, but I just recommend that you check before investing in something.

As for devices themselves, I have no suggestions. I like Acer for Chromebooks but don't know their products for PCs.

ETA: There are CBs available that have an 8-hour battery life. I imagine the same is available in PCs.

[nfceagles]

My last 2 kid laptops were hp's from Costco both whew under 500 I think 450 ish they work well. Mine don't take them to,school I can't imagine thy don't have plug in capabilities with the laptop requirement

That's about what I expect to spend. Will definitely look at Costco. Thanks.


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[nfceagles]

Will the school even allow that? In order to be used at school, it wil have to access the school's/district's wi-fi. One of the reasons schools like Chromebooks is that the Enterprise version is easy to use. It's relatively easy to add a student's personal CB to the system. That may not be the case with a personal PC. I would check with the school or district before buying something else.

Also be aware that GAFE will work differently on a PC. The school may use certain apps, extensions, or add-ons that are designed to integrate smoothly with a CB and may or may not work as well (or at all) on a PC.

It might be better to keep the PC at home. What is the issue with allergies? Residual allergens on the CB? Maybe you could arrange with the school for him to have a dedicated CB at school that no one else touches.

It's possible that none is the above that I mentioned would be an issue at all, but I just recommend that you check before investing in something.

As for devices themselves, I have no suggestions. I like Acer for Chromebooks but don't know their products for PCs.

ETA: There are CBs available that have an 8-hour battery life. I imagine the same is available in PCs.

Thanks. Those are good questions. I know they allow kids to bring their own devices but it hadn't occurred to me to verify that it could be a Windows laptop.

My concern with allergies is that one kid might be munching on his peanut butter cracker snack while working on the CB that my kid gets next. Plus, we could use one more machine at home (I hate sharing my laptop when both kids need on a computer) so it seemed to make sense.


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[MMMommy]

Will the school even allow that? In order to be used at school, it wil have to access the school's/district's wi-fi. One of the reasons schools like Chromebooks is that the Enterprise version is easy to use. It's relatively easy to add a student's personal CB to the system. That may not be the case with a personal PC. I would check with the school or district before buying something else.

Also be aware that GAFE will work differently on a PC. The school may use certain apps, extensions, or add-ons that are designed to integrate smoothly with a CB and may or may not work as well (or at all) on a PC.

It might be better to keep the PC at home. What is the issue with allergies? Residual allergens on the CB? Maybe you could arrange with the school for him to have a dedicated CB at school that no one else touches.

It's possible that none is the above that I mentioned would be an issue at all, but I just recommend that you check before investing in something.

As for devices themselves, I have no suggestions. I like Acer for Chromebooks but don't know their products for PCs.

ETA: There are CBs available that have an 8-hour battery life. I imagine the same is available in PCs.

Very good points here. This is how it works for our DDs' Chromebooks and middle school. They are all tied to the school's wifi, have specific integrated programs, controlled access to things, etc. Definitely check with the school before buying.

[PZMommy]

Thanks. Those are good questions. I know they allow kids to bring their own devices but it hadn't occurred to me to verify that it could be a Windows laptop.

My concern with allergies is that one kid might be munching on his peanut butter cracker snack while working on the CB that my kid gets next. Plus, we could use one more machine at home (I hate sharing my laptop when both kids need on a computer) so it seemed to make sense.


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Since he has an allergy, I would talk to his school/teacher, and have one that only he uses. That should be an easy accommodation. I can't imagine you would be the first parent to have that issue.

You could still get another laptop for at home if you need one. I'd just be worried about transporting one to and from school and it not "playing nicely" with the school wifi and apps. I know when I bring my own laptop to my school, it isn't the easiest to get it connected to the wifi. They have all sorts of filters and passwords because they don't want students connecting their phones etc to the wifi.

[JBaxter]

Our middle school requires a lot of online homework and you are able to log in to their system from any computer school or home

[Corie]

My concern with allergies is that one kid might be munching on his peanut butter cracker snack while working on the CB that my kid gets next.

I wouldn't think the school/teachers would allow any food or drinks anywhere near the computers. But I could be wrong!