Google is transforming public education with low-cost laptops and free apps

Post by ftlio » Sat, May 13, 2017, 6:04 PM UTC

dkarapetyan wrote: post #117

gniv wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we should fix what is broken about the system Who is we? The state? I don't trust the state to be able to fix this. Remember the launch of healthcare.gov? Google employees had to step in to fix it to make it usable.

Why do you automatically couple the collective noun to the state? I didn't say government bureaucrats should fix the problem for specific reasons. The world is more than just corporations and state sponsored entities. "We" means regular people, parents, teachers, community organizers, etc.

Post by dkarapetyan » Sat, May 13, 2017, 6:06 PM UTC

zdragnar wrote: post #120

dkarapetyan wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also think it is kinda backwards that a for-profit corporation is subsidizing public education. This is a symptom of a broken system and instead of praising Google we should fix what is broken about the system. This also creates an interesting precedent if it sticks. Are parents going to beg Google to prop up their schools now?

This isn't even remotely new. Apple and windows have been doing the same ever since computers were in schools. Heck, I even got free oem copies of Vista and 7, and Ms word through my school (University) which were provided to the school well below what the normal prices were. The fact that Google is providing a subjectively better alternative isn't remotely new, but if it works better and see lower cost to schools, I…

Post by Gaelan » Sat, May 13, 2017, 6:21 PM UTC

skybrian wrote: post #64

Gaelan wrote: post #53

15 yo high school student here; we have Google Apps accounts and use chromebooks every once and a while. The district has carts of chromebooks that are brought in when students need to do research or work on projects in class. They work pretty well. (The district also has Mac Minis, which are used by the teachers and in the library; they are imaged to Windows if the teacher chooses.) Happy to answer any questions.

Do you use them for having fun or just for homework? What other computers do you use?

Post by ashark » Sat, May 13, 2017, 6:36 PM UTC

beagle3 wrote: post #113

bitwize wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember Microsoft Briefcase. It was one of the new, exciting features you could only get with Windows 95! Yes, woefully underused. But in those days networked storage was difficult to set up and removable media meant ZIP drives. Today we have The Cloud™, aka PFM that just works.

It was buggy as hell, I've known quite a few people who lost hours of work to it.

Post by orangecat » Sat, May 13, 2017, 6:55 PM UTC

kuschku wrote: post #118

hanibash wrote: post #99

Google is providing cheap, stable laptops for education and most people commenting here are painting Google as an evil data-hungry corporation. I get that companies should be subject to scrutiny due to their outsized responsibility and impact, but this is just silly. In 2013 only 60% of children had internet access at home in the U.S.[0] It might not seem like a big deal for HN readers, but computer access is still a…

Provide cheap, stable laptops that do not have any bias to any corporation, no integration with Google services, or anything, and this would be true. But this way? Sorry, but after the past years you can’t honestly believe this is pure altruism.