Many U.S. public schools stand to greatly benefit with a new deal which lets them acquire Samsung (News - Alert) Series 5 Chromebooks for classrooms at the very competitive price of $99 – as a treat for the winter holidays.
The price includes the Chromebook, management and support. It needs to be taken by Dec. 21.
Google (News - Alert) Chromebooks are well-suited for classroom needs. They work fast, can be shared among students and do not need a lot of maintenance. Over, 1,000 schools have chosen Chromebooks for their classrooms.
Given that more schools want Chromebooks, but struggle to afford them because of tight budgets, Google and DonorsChoose.org are collaborating to get the computers into classrooms.
DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that connects donors to classroom needs. Full-time public school teachers can make a request on DonorsChoose.org – where it will be posted so viewers can donate money. When the goal is reached, the Chromebooks will be shipped from Lakeshore Learning. Interested teachers should create a DonorsChoose.org account if they do not already have one. They can request up to 30 Chromebooks at the $99 price.
The laptop is well-suited for classrooms where the Internet is used during the day, and there is Wi-Fi access. Online tools in such classrooms include applications for classroom instruction and assignments, such as researching and learning from websites, writing collaborative documents and spreadsheets.
“Working together … we can help classrooms get off to a strong start in the New Year,” according to the Google blog post by Rajen Sheth, group product manager.
Another company, Kno, a provider of education software, also partnered with DonorsChoose.org to offer more classroom resources. Customers who make a purchase can choose a local teacher's project, and Kno will donate $1, according to TMCnet.
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Edited by Brooke Neuman