August 21st, 2014
A chromebook sale to consider
Our class was fortunate to pilot chromebooks last year. We used them for writing, math, some reading, and other class activities throughout the day.
We are lucky enough to continue the pilot again this year! The 5th grade social studies curriculum has a complete online component that we’ll try, including the text, and online assignments, quizzes, and tests.
We are also going to try incorporating a computer science and programming curriculum into our weekly class activities.
What all that means is that we’ll be using our chromebooks even more this year for learning. If you would like a way to extend that learning at home, and if your student doesn’t already have a chromebook, Groupon is having a steal of a deal right now:
A refurbished Acer C720 for $129.99.
Many review sites say that this is one of the best chromebooks available. I personally have this same model that I use at home, also refurbished, but I purchased it for a higher cost than this sale offers.
While your student can use any computer for any of our classwork, this chromebook is portable, has a keyboard for writing and typing, and the battery lasts over 8 hours. It gets automatic updates and should be useable well into middle school for your student. It can’t install Windows programs and it doesn’t have a DVD player, but it can be used for 95% of what your student will need well into middle school.
Note that while chromebooks can be used offline for reading email, creating documents, and some other things, chromebooks are really meant to be used with a wifi internet connection. (Comcast offers a nice deal on low cost internet for families of students that qualify for free or reduced lunch; learn more about the low cost internet service here.)
I’m not sure how much longer this deal will last. So if you’re interested in a chromebook for your student, you can’t get much better than $130 for this model.
Note: I don’t get any kind of kickback for this. Just trying to promote a great device at a great price that will help students.
Source: Groupon
