Are Chromebooks Good for Education? Read About the Benefits and Drawbacks

Are Chromebooks good for education? It’s a common question that schools looking for an alternative to conventional laptops often ask. Chromebooks are gaining popularity as effective tools in education because they are affordable, sturdy, and easy to use. They also provide easy-to-manage computing, allowing educators to spend more time on teaching than managing classroom technology.

Despite these benefits, Chromebooks have the drawback of not being able to run full-featured Windows-based applications like Microsoft Office. Learn more about the benefits of Chromebooks in education and how Parallels® Desktop for Chrome OS can improve their usability, depending on the Chromebook you use.

What Is an Educational Chromebook?

There is no significant difference between a standard and an education-focused Chromebook. They both run the Chrome OS, a minimalist operating system (OS) with cloud storage options. However, educational Chromebooks have added durability to survive more wear and tear when compared with standard Chromebooks.

Education Chromebooks also receive more technical support either from vendors or Google itself. This means that school IT administrators don’t waste precious time troubleshooting issues. Teachers can also leverage the Google Admin Console to simplify the provisioning and management of massive fleets of Chromebooks.

Why Use a Chromebook in Education?

Chromebooks are a popular option for virtual learning for numerous reasons, including that:

They provide robust security. The Chrome OS is secure by design, with many features such as Titan C chips and sandboxing. And since Chromebooks update automatically, all the applications remain up-to-date with the latest security patches. IT administrators can also use the Google Admin console to restrict applications that don’t meet the school’s security standards.
They are portable. Chromebooks are smaller in size than average laptops because the Chrome OS requires less powerful hardware specifications. This makes them more portable for use anywhere a computer is needed.
The inbuilt screen recording tool can help educators teach from anywhere. The Chrome OS (version 89 and above) has a native screen recording tool that can help teachers record lessons so students can prepare for tests using recorded sessions. This tool is suited perfectly for virtual learning environments where it can be integrated with online learning tools such as Google Classroom and Google Docs to enhance learning experiences.

What Are Some Drawbacks of Using a Chromebook in Education?

Although Chromebooks can help facilitate virtual learning environments, they still have their own drawbacks, such as:

They have limited storage capacity. The storage capacity for most Chromebooks ranges from 16 GB to 64 GB, which is not enough to handle large files. Google compensates for this by offering 100 GB of free cloud storage. However, you have to pay more if you need more storage.
You can synchronize only while online. While some Chromebook applications can technically be used offline, they work best if the device is online. For example, you can type an email when the Chromebook is offline, but it is transmitted only when you get online. You can also write a few paragraphs of your assignment, but the changes can get synchronized only when the Chromebook is online. Apart from a few offline functionalities in some applications, you need an active internet connection to use most programs.
You cannot run Microsoft applications fully. Chromebooks are not suited for students and teachers that love Microsoft applications because they can’t run full-featured services. While Google encourages users to use Android-based applications and its own free, online version of Microsoft applications such as Google Docs and Sheets, these programs lack the native features that learners may be accustomed to.
You cannot run other useful Windows-compatible applications. Like Microsoft applications, Chromebooks cannot run other Windows-based professional productivity software.

Maximize Chromebooks’ Usability in Education with Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS

Despite the apparent benefits of education-focused Chromebooks, users cannot access Windows-compatible native applications. Students and teachers who switch from Windows to Chromebook often miss their favorite productivity applications and creator tools, potentially impacting education performance.

Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS is an enterprise-grade Windows container that runs natively on Chromebooks. Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS allows users to run full versions of Windows OS and associated applications on Chromebooks, as if those programs are executing on standard Windows PCs. Take a look at the system requirements.

It comprises many of the features such as the:

Ability to copy and paste between Windows OS and Chrome OS.
Ability to use a dynamic screen-resolution ensures that Windows never appears squished and the user never relies on scroll bars.
Ability to run full-screen Windows applications on the Chromebook as if the virtual machine (VM) were a regular Windows PC.
Option to set a Windows application as a default application for launching files.

Most importantly, users can run Windows while offline. This is a big boon for teachers and students who move regularly with Chromebooks because they do not need to depend on an active internet connection to run Windows applications.

Try out Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS today to experience first-hand how it maximizes Chromebook usability!