High School Bring Your Own Device

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › High School Bring Your Own Device

livealittle

75 posts

Master Geek

#196215 23-May-2016 15:27

Daughter is starting secondary school next year.

With it being BYOD the mini specs are

5-6hr battery life

Min 2gb Ram

Physical Keyboard need

OS Windows 7,8 Mac or Chrome OS

Min screen 7in

CPU faster is usually better (their words)

Camera is recommend

Given all that am after suggestion pros and cons for device.

Daughter is keen on a MacBook Air as she is familiar with Mac OS and like the MacBook we have at home but I was thinking more chrome book or something similar.

Looking forward to the discussion.

ubergeeknz

3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Vocus

#1558018 23-May-2016 15:30

If you've got the money, MacBook Air. If you want something cheap that will do the job, Chromebook. We got a Samsung chromebook for our 8yo and it's still going strong 2 years later (although one of the hinges is a bit loose after it was dropped) but they all seem fairly well made.

Keep in mind the possibilities (gaming, video editing, graphic design, etc) for a MacBook Air are far greater than a Chromebook which is of very minimal spec.

wasabi2k

2096 posts

Uber Geek

#1558034 23-May-2016 15:49

How loaded are you?

A chromebook is under $500.

A macbook Air is not.

Are you happy with your daughter taking a $1000+ device to school and back daily? Where it can be stolen/broken/lost?

Dynamic

3867 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1558044 23-May-2016 16:08

wasabi2k:

How loaded are you?

A chromebook is under $500.

A macbook Air is not.

Are you happy with your daughter taking a $1000+ device to school and back daily? Where it can be stolen/broken/lost?

Agree with this. My Y11 student does not take a device. My Y9 student faced some pressure to bring a device from one teacher, and the Y9 students at this high school are the guinea pigs for BYOD. We already had a Chromebook available so this was the device used. They weigh 3 eights of bugger all (important to me as the device was something additional to carry, - it did not reduce the weight in the school bag by replacing anything) and are relatively cheap to replace (easy for me to say on a middle income).

I work in IT and am NOT a huge fan of tech in Y1-8 (I actively discourage it at my kids Primary school). I'm more accepting of it in high school.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management. A great Kiwi company.

lNomNoml

1807 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1558088 23-May-2016 17:24

Wow, can I borrow a few hundred dollars? :)

Get a high end Chromebook would be my recommendation, you're just making it harder for her in the future getting a Macbook. /flamesuit on

Something like this: http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=NBKACN691188&name=Acer-Chromebook-C738T-Flip-Chromebook11.6-Touch-In

Dynamic

3867 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1558209 23-May-2016 20:24

1-day.co.nz has Chromebooks every few weeks. That's where I got ours for $299. Recommended this purchase to friends and they spotted a 13" Chromebook on the site for $299 and were very happy with purchase.

I buy from this site regularly and have had a couple of warranty issues. They have been excellent to deal with each time.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management. A great Kiwi company.

littleheaven

2130 posts

Uber Geek

#1561796 29-May-2016 16:49

I got my son a Lenovo Thinkpad 11e netbook which is designed specifically for students. It's not the sexiest thing in the world and a little on the heavy side, but that's because it's built like a tank to survive being taken to school. They come in Chromebook and Windows varieties, and PB Tech often has them at very good prices - the Windows one is under $700 and comes with Win8Pro, 4GB RAM, i3 processor and a 320GB hard drive (link: http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=NBKLEN131336I&name=LENOVO-ThinkPad-X131e-Premium-Education-Notebook-I). They sometimes sell reconditioned ones too.

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.