Chromebook Guide

Chromebooks and laptops...what's the difference?

All of the district's desktop computers use Microsoft Windows as their operating system. Chromebooks on the other hand use a version of the Google Chrome browser as their operating system. That means Chromebooks have some definite strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:

  • fully integrated with Google Apps for Education

  • great for anything internet-based

  • able to work on Google Drive documents, even without an internet connection

  • fast - Chromebooks use solid-state drives, which means no moving pieces, which means faster start up, use, and shut down

  • no Windows updates

  • changes made to Chrome, like bookmarks, extensions, etc., automatically travel from one device to another because they are saved to your account settings in the cloud

Weaknesses:

  • no standalone programs - you can't install things like Word

  • while you can edit drive documents offline, Chromebooks really shine when they have an internet connection

  • not networked - you can't access your H: drive at school on a Chromebook

Resources