3 Chromebook Myths Busted

Here at Cornerstone, we are all-in on Chromebooks. We love the way they work for our teachers, our administration, and our students. Their flexibility, security, and consistency are key attributes we value in the Chromebook model, and we appreciate Google taking the initiative to continue to provide great products and services in the education realm.

As you know, students grades 5-12 at Cornerstone are required to bring their own Chromebook to class for coursework. With this requirement we get a lot of inquiries from parents and students about Chromebooks and Chrome OS. Below I want to debunk a few myths surrounding Chromebooks to help answer questions some may have about the tools we're using in the classroom.

Myth 1. You can't get any real work done on a Chromebook

Chromebooks are based in the cloud, yes, but who says you can't do real work in the cloud? For those who need Microsoft Office, there are a handful of alternative cloud-specific options (Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets) or, you could just run Microsoft 365 in your Chrome browser.

Need Photoshop? While you can't run the full program on a Chromebook you are able to run these options for free or the Adobe Photoshop Android app, if your Chromebook is compatible.

Myth 2. Chromebooks have no storage

This is a common misconception, even by those who use a Chromebook on a regular basis. Chromebooks typically have between 16 and 32 GB of internal storage and can have upwards of 64 GB (or 512 GB!).

For those who need more storage, it's easy to load a USB drive or SD card with the files you need. Thankfully, all Cornerstone students have unlimited storage in Google Drive which allows them to complete their coursework without worry of space limitations.

Myth 3. Chromebooks are useless without the Internet

A long time ago, when Chromebooks first made their appearance on the market, they did have a very limited offline feature set; that was 2011.

Nowadays you can read and compose emails, create and edit files in Drive, take notes in Google Keep, view and edit your calendar, and much more, all without an internet connection. Not to mention, the Chrome Web Store has tons of offline apps you can install to use when you don't have an internet connection.

All in all, Chromebooks have become a great fit for our school and for educators all around the world. We feel like we're on the cutting edge of educational technology, and we're excited to see how Google will continue to improve their Chromebook line to facilitate new and creative ways of learning for our students.