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  • 1.  HP Chromebooks vs. ?

    Posted 02-10-2022 07:20 PM

    Hive mind, 

    I need your input.  We are using Chromebooks in our 3 - 6 grades.  We have some older HPs that are starting to slowly go down hill.  But, the newer HP with a USB-C charging port have been failing so much faster.  These are all 11" 8gb Chromebooks.

    What brand of Chromebooks are you using? 
    What is your insight to that brand? 

    Pros vs Cons would be wonderful.  We are in the process of replacing 2 classroom fleets and may want to move to a different company.

    Thanks for your insight.


    #General

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    Julie Bryan (she/her)
    Client Technology Support Specialist
    The Bush School
    bush.edu | 206.326.7723 | Julie.Bryan@bush.edu
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  • 2.  RE: HP Chromebooks vs. ?

    Posted 02-14-2022 04:53 PM
    We have school-provided Chromebooks for grades 1-4.  We currently have Dell 3100 2-in-1s for grade 1 and Lenovo 300e Gen 2 AMDs for grades 2-4 (60-75 kids per grade).  All have touch screens and world facing cameras (the cameras are useful for digital portfolios); the Dells have 8 GB RAM.

    What is failing on the newer ones?   Is it the charging port itself?  We had a spate of charging port failures early on with our Lenovo 300es, because students were plugging the Chromebooks in and trying to put them into the cart with the charging port towards the back.  They were banging the port/cable into the back of the cart or into the partitions and breaking them that way.  Some training from the LS tech teacher that they should put the Chromebook in the cart first with the port facing out, and then plug in the charger, helped tremendously.  The USB-C ports are not as durable as the old barrel connectors, but we haven't had any problems with dead USB-C ports since.

    We also have all our Chromebooks in bumper cases (Lenovo-branded ones for the 300es, and Gumdrop ones for the Dells), which has decreased screen breakage significantly since we implemented them.  The Chromebooks are going back and forth every day this year, with the possibility of quarantines, and I'm actually amazed we haven't had more breakage, given the lack of coordination and self-awareness of kids that young.

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    David Fulton-Howard
    Technical Support Manager
    McDonogh School
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: HP Chromebooks vs. ?

    Posted 02-18-2022 02:11 PM
    Julie,

    How are the c-usb ports failing.  We had a few of these and it seems that the battery sometimes goes into a deep discharge state.  I this happens they do not charge.  The fix is to plug them and leave them for 24 hours.   So far two of our chromebooks that would not charge have been fixed this way.   We use HP Chromebook 14A G5's.  Maybe this will work for you as well.

    David,

    Thanks for the tip on the Gumdrop bumper cases.  I have had 6 screens broken inthe last 4 months.  

    Regards,

    Bill

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    Bill Weinstein
    Montgomery School
    bweinstein@montgomeryschool.org
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: HP Chromebooks vs. ?

    Posted 02-18-2022 02:53 PM
    So far, we have (knock on wood) had zero of the screens on our Dells with the Gumdrop cases broken (60 machines deployed since late August).

    We've had probably a total of 10 screens broken on our Lenovo 300es (200 machines deployed February-May 2021 and then again since late August).

    The kids have been carrying the machines back and forth every day to be prepared for close-contact quarantines and snow-day instruction, so IMO it's a minor miracle we haven't had more breakage.  I just learned today that one of the ones I have sitting here waiting on parts was in a backpack that was driven over by Mom's car!

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    David Fulton-Howard
    Technical Support Manager
    McDonogh School
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: HP Chromebooks vs. ?

    Posted 02-22-2022 01:16 PM
    We had HPs last year and the USBC ports kept breaking too - the ports themselves would have internal components get bent or break over time. Frustrating!

    We now have CTL chomebooks and so far so good! https://ctl.net/collections/chromebooks/products/ctl-chromebook-nl71tw But, we just got them. Hoping we have a better experience with these.

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    Liz Beck
    Director of Technology
    Laurence School
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: HP Chromebooks vs. ?

    Posted 02-23-2022 09:11 AM
    Yes the USB c ports on HPs are terrible! There is a company that sells replacement ports that they claim are better because of how the screw goes in? Anyway if you are interested I will see if I can locate their contact info. I talked to them at tech conference a few weeks ago.

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    Hayley Gunther
    Educational Technologist
    Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools
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    Original Message


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