Samsung Announces 3 Chromebook Solutions at FETC 2016
Samsung’s latest packages for education are geared for schools interested in piloting one-to-one Chromebook programs before going all-in.
Google’s Chromebook line of notebooks appear to be on a winning streak. By the end of 2015, the low-cost notebooks had secured more than half of the K–12 device market, according to Futuresource Consulting.
But Samsung’s success in the market has grown right along with Google’s, with more than 2.2 million of the company’s Chromebooks having been distributed in K–12 districts, according to a news release. And new announcements from Samsung during FETC 2016, one of the largest education technology conferences in the country, make clear that the company is laying the foundation for even more growth with Chromebooks.
This week, Samsung unveiled three solutions for K–12 districts: the latest edition of Classroom in a Box, a cloud-based Chrome OS conversion package and a SMART Samsung Chromebook bundle.
Samsung first unveiled Classroom in a Box during ISTE 2015. The package contained everything schools would need to launch their own one-to-one pilot program, including either Galaxy Tab 4 Education tablets or Chromebook 2 notebooks. This year’s package features Samsung’s new Chromebook 3, along with math and language-arts digital curriculum options from partner McGraw-Hill Education.
The package can be expanded in 10-device increments to accommodate classrooms or schools of any size, according to Diane Ashby, Samsung’s national education business manager. She tells EdTech that Chromebooks were the primary choice for this year’s Classroom in a Box because of their popularity in K–12 districts.
“Frankly, now schools are looking for what's an easy device to manage to deploy and to support, and Chromebooks put a check mark in every criteria there,” says Ashby.
To assist districts seeking to move their data from non-Chrome platforms, Samsung turned to Neverware and its CloudReady OS conversion software to migrate devices to Chrome OS.
“If you have legacy tech but can’t afford to replace it, this gives you a way to do that and take advantage of all the great things happening with Chrome,” says Ashby.
