• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
ClassThink

ClassThink

School Technology Guides

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • HOME
  • LATEST
  • Featured
  • School App Search
    • Search
    • Dashboard
    • Directory Login
  • TEACHER GUIDES
    • Microsoft Teams
      • Microsoft Teams Teacher’s Hub
    • Microsoft OneDrive
    • Microsoft Stream
    • Microsoft Office
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Microsoft OneNote
    • Microsoft Office
    • Microsoft Outlook
    • Microsoft Windows
    • Microsoft SDS
    • Google Classroom
    • Google Meet
    • Zoom
  • REVIEWS
  • NEWSLETTER
  • ABOUT
    • Contact Us
    • About ClassThink
    • Support ClassThink
    • Write for ClassThink
    • Advertising and Sponsorship
You are here: Home / Chromebook / Chromebook Experiment – Part 1: Purchasing

Chromebook Experiment – Part 1: Purchasing

3 July 2013 by Karl Rivers 2 Comments

We needed a set of mobile devices for our Science department. They had to be portable but we didn’t have the budget for Windows laptops. In our research we came to the conclusion that using iPads as multi-user devices wasn’t appropriate, however, we still wanted the accessibility, speed, and reliability of a tablet.

We decided to experiment with a set of 25 Chromebooks.

We already have a Google Apps for Education (GAFE) domain set up, and a substantial percentage of our students and teachers already using Google services in some capacity. This made the hurdle to using Chrome OS that little bit lower.

Despite this, I’m interested to discover how easily teachers and students acclimatise to this very different operating system and if it can meet all of their requirements. Using Google services in a web browser with the back up of Windows applications is one thing, removing the Microsoft safety net is another.

Purchasing Chromebooks — Not as Simple as it Looks

I did what was required. Contacted three of our regular suppliers and requested three comparable quotes from our regular suppliers. Then I placed an order….little did I know I’d already made my first mistake.

When you purchase a Chromebook from Google they provide a “Chrome device license” which enables the Chrome Management Device Settings page in the Google Apps control panel. Suppliers other than Google do not provide this license which you instead have to request from Google separately.

The First Job — Acquiring Chrome Device Licenses

You’ll notice in the image above, next to the “You must purchase at least one Chrome device license to use these features”, there’s a link to “Try Chrome device management”. The link takes you to an Introducing Chromebook for business page and a sales enquiry form. This didn’t seem to be the appropriate action to take so I called Google Support to find out more about Chrome device licenses.

While Google Apps support in general is very good, contacting the company about Chrome devices is a struggle. The telephone option for Chrome devices asks for your Google Apps customer PIN, but unless you’ve already been assigned a Chrome device license the only response you get it that the PIN is not valid — not very helpful.

After bluffing my way through the call options I finally reached a Google Apps representative that helpfully pointed me back to the original website form. I’m now awaiting a reply before I can continue my foray into the world of Chrome OS.

I’m assuming with naive optimism that the Chrome device licenses are free for Google Apps for Education customers. The answer is certainly not made clear by Google or their representatives, and this is an issue I keep coming across when trying to find definitive information about Google Apps for Education.

If you’re a Google business customer any information or pricing you might need is easily accessible, but often I’ve found that education customers are directed to business pages with irrelevant or confusing information. Also, the Google support representatives appear to be poorly informed about how to deal with education customers.

Once we have the Chrome device licenses I intend to document the process of setting up and configuring the Chromebooks.

Let us know your experience with Chromebooks.

You might also like...

Filed Under: Chrome OS, Chromebook

This page contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on the links to these products. For an explanation of our Affiliate Policy, please visit this page.

About Karl Rivers

Karl Rivers is a Director of IT who has worked in education for more than twenty years. He won the Naace Impact Award for Supporting School Services.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brandon Humphries says

    12/16/2013 at 10:35 pm

    I’m in the same boat. I made the mistake of going and buying 3 for some lobby workstations from the local Walmart thinking I could just enroll and go. Apparently not, it said my account wasn’t authorized to enroll. But from what I could tell, Google wasn’t selling the HP Chromebook 14 that I needed (the non-profit senior center I work for needs something with a bigger display). I read somewhere that google charges 150 per device, or 30 (for non profits) per device for the life of the device for mobile device management. It’s really a shame it’s not buy and go. MDM was the reason I went with a chromebook instead of a PC.

    Log in to Reply
    • Karl Rivers says

      12/16/2013 at 10:39 pm

      Hi Brandon,

      Google really need to make this clearer on their Google Apps website. It took a good deal of researching before I was able to find the information I needed.

      Let me know how you’re getting on with your Chromebooks.

      Karl

      Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

You might also like...

Popular School Apps

  • Bromcom Computers Plc

    Bromcom Computers Plc

    MIS/SIS System

  • CleverTouch

    CleverTouch

    Classroom Screens & Projectors

  • Capita SIMS

    Capita SIMS

    MIS/SIS System +3 Parent Communications, Parent Portal, Parents Evenings,

  • Wakelet

    Wakelet

    Learning Platform +1 Social Bookmarking,

  • BKSK

    BKSK

    Assessments +1 Educational Games & Quizzes,

Latest Edtech News

Virtual breakout rooms for Microsoft Teams – everything you need to know

Download the free OneNote for Team Collaboration eBook

New Surface Laptop Go Announced

Featured

Best Chromebooks for students in 2021

Create beautiful infographics for your classroom

Record online lessons with Camtasia

Naace Impact Awards Winner

Footer

Recent

  • Best Chromebooks for students in 2021
  • Create beautiful infographics for your classroom
  • Virtual breakout rooms for Microsoft Teams – everything you need to know
  • Record online lessons with Camtasia
  • Download the free OneNote for Team Collaboration eBook
  • New Surface Laptop Go Announced
  • Managing Windows 10 in schools with Intune and Autopilot
  • How to stop students unmuting themselves in Microsoft Teams
  • How to spotlight students & demonstrations in Microsoft Teams meetings
  • How to record a PowerPoint presentation as a video
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Recent Forum Topics

  • What is Call Center Employee Engagement?
  • Significance of Explainer Videos for Marketing
  • IproVPN is the Best US VPN Provider
  • Using VPN App in Apple or not? Not a big deal!
  • JvFHf5vfJ HyVSv2mpZ
  • Use VPN Security
  • How less is more with application development
  • How Much Does it Cost to Make an App like Uber
  • Microsoft Team class not appearing for teacher but is correct in Teams admin
  • FCM Test Notification!!! message in Microsoft Teams

Most Popular Posts

  • How to record a PowerPoint presentation as a video
  • How to delete a video from Microsoft Teams
  • How to enable Large Gallery view and Together Mode in Microsoft Teams
  • How to publicly share a Microsoft Stream video
  • How to turn off chat for students in Microsoft Teams
  • How to restore a deleted team in Microsoft Teams
  • How to stop students muting and kicking others in Microsoft Teams video meetings
  • How to repair a smashed Chromebook screen in 3 minutes
  • How to disable gifs (Giphys) in Microsoft teams
  • How to annotate and share a screenshot in Microsoft Teams
  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 · ClassThink.com · Affiliate Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Here's the secret · Log in