Dear St. Anne's Families,
At St. Anne's we currently have Macbooks, iMacs, Chromebooks, and iPads. We often get asked the question: What is the difference between a Macbook and a Chromebook?
A Chromebook is a laptop that runs Google's Chrome OS while a Macbook runs the Mac OS X operating system. Chromebooks are designed to be used primarily while connected to the Internet, with most applications and documents living in the cloud. As a result, Chromebooks don't have a lot of onboard storage, and they cost between $150-$350. Macbooks have faster processors, better screen graphics, more memory, and can do more complex tasks like video editing. The cost of a Macbook is between $1,000-$2,000. The lifespan of a Chromebook is estimated to be around three years while the lifespan of a Macbook averages around six years. A Chromebook only allows the user to use the Chrome browser while multiple browsers can be used on a Macbook, such as Firefox, Safari, and Chrome.
Since we use many online tools at St. Anne's such as Google Drive, IXL, WeVideo, and Typing Agent, the Chromebooks have been a great addition to the school. The iMacs and Macbooks have been great for creating iMovie projects, HyperStudio projects, Pages documents and other offline projects. There has been much debate about which device is best: PC or Mac. Now Chromebooks have been added to the mix. If you have any questions about these devices, please do not hesitate to ask.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization that provides education and advocacy to families to promote safe technology and media for children
Below are a few links to articles published by Common Sense Media that we thought you might find interesting.
Technology should work for you and work within your family values and parenting style. When technology is used thoughtfully and appropriately, it can enhance daily life. But when used inappropriately or without thought, technology can displace many important activities such as face-to-face interaction, family-time, outdoor-play, exercise, unplugged downtime, and sleep.
3 Places Families Should Make Phone Free - This article is about how technology can interrupt our most treasured family moments. Sure, our devices keep us connected, informed, and engaged. However, meals, bedtime, and even time in the car are the three times when we need to just say no to using devices. Click here to read the article.
Kid's Summer Movies Guide 2017 - Since school's out, that means there are even more movies aimed at kids, tweens, and teens. But how will parents decide what's appropriate for their kids? Common Sense Media has a guide that can help parents choose which summer movies are best for their kids. Click here to read the article.