Google signs up three schools for Chromebooks

Google’s put in motion an Apple-like plan calling for Chromebooks in education, traditionally a strong market for Apple’s Macintosh computers. The company announced on its official Enterprise blog back-to-school deals with three schools that will begin using Chromebooks when students return over the coming weeks. First up, the Fessenden School in West Newton, MA, an independent K-9 institution which will add two carts of Chromebooks that will also be available for use in the library.

Grace Lutheran School, a small private school in Oshkosh, central Wisconsin, will be sharing Chromebooks throughout the day in classrooms among 5th through 8th grade students. And finally, Merton Community School District, also in Wisconsin, will give 110 sixth graders Chromebooks to keep and use until they graduate from eighth grade. At $20 per user per month, users get a Chromebook, a web-based management console for IT and 24/7 support from Google. The company says it’s seeing “a lot of interest from K-12 institutions” from their Chromebook for Education initiative.