My kid is entering primary school next year and was wondering if a MacBook Air would suffice for school work as well as some coding classes. I’m personally more versed in Windows.
Just wondering from parents here that assignments etc are ok with MacOS and from coders here that a MacBook Air is sufficient for coding on a learning basis. Thanks in advance.
I don't think lower primary school require laptops to be used in class.
Anyway unless your kid is plannito do something unique to window, MBA is fine
Yea I guess mostly would be some online classes etc. Thanks for the inputs.
MacBook Air is overkill for primary school, especially if not taken care of properly.
a word of caution: Apple now solders everything to the motherboard, so make sure your kid learns how to save documents to the cloud. Because if anything goes wrong, for example, if the OS fails to boot, be prepared to fork out lots to replace the entire motherboard.
also, macOS patch updates take between 10 to 15 mins to update, unlike Windows which is between 3 to 5 mins.
Got it. I think safer to get Apple Care with it. Thanks!
Coding in primary school is most likely on Scratch. It's browser-based and drag and drop. If not Scratch, it's going to be something similar.
Any computer will do, tablet is also fine. There could be occasional online homework, again through a browser, so any device will do. But often you need to upload photos of your kid's work or videos of him performing something, so a tablet would be the easiest way for your kid to do it all by himself. I make my kids use desktops, so it ends up being a pain for me to use my phone to take the photos/vids, then transfer to the desktop for uploading.
I would strongly recommend NOT getting a nice new computer for a P1 kid. Nothing they do needs any computing power. And chances of the kid dropping it, losing it, or spilling stuff on it are very high. For such a young kid, it's also better if he doesn't think of the computer as his property (for internet safety reasons, basically). Maybe you have an old device somewhere that you don't mind letting him use?
Thanks for the tips. I myself have been a windows desktop user so this will be the first laptop. Ya will put it to him that this is not primarily his but the families.
As a parent of a child who just finished primary school, he got on just fine on the Windows desktop I passed down to him.
There's no need for a portable device unless he's going to a friend's house to play
In sec school he has to use the device prescribed by the school.
Got it! Thanks!
Most definitely. The macbook airs with the M chips are really powerful for any purpose even in my university work. Can't imagine tasks to be too heavy in primary school. Would personally get something cheaper from windows just because macbooks can be pricey. All the best!
Agreed they are more expensive but I looking at the multiple Windows options I think the MacBook Air will give a more consistent battery life and longevity. Maybe I’m just thinking too way ahead.
I think you get your kid a cheap windows laptop first and teach him to care for things before giving them a MacBook air. I can guarantee you, damage WILL happen. I can't imagine how much of my stuff got damaged when I was a kid due to clumsiness.
Wow kids are so privileged these days. Are the coding classes from school or external? Cos if it's the former I imagine they'll only learn the basics and low end computers should be able to handle it. But considering the weight and longevity, MBA seems like a good choice
Actually from what I know it’s only P3 onwards. But since he doesn’t have any device, we start with something that he do some online class etc.
Agreed on the weight and longevity!
Sorry unrelated but..wow nowadays even primary school teach coding already? I didn’t even know about the entire field of computing / CS (didn’t type a line of code) until I enter uni
Also I use a MacBook Air and I think that’s sufficient for my coding assignment.
It's typically graphical drag-and-drop. But it's enough to teach them the basics of if statements, loops, and variables.
Example tutorial on a commonly used platform for kids to learn coding: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor/?tutorial=make-it-fly
At P5 or 6, the more advanced kids may learn how to write and edit Python code in the context of the game Minecraft.
If it’s good for uni level then I should be good unless the program only supports Win
If the child is going to learn some programming, make sure that the software they are going to use is compatible with Mac OS X or is web based. Otherwise, it'll be a mess.
Err the only issue is if the school forces some windows related software.
From what I know. in most places macbook are really popular for coding. It's more than fine. The macbook air is a fantastic choice for most things other than if you need real raw graphics power
Err the only issue is if the school forces some windows related software.
Yes that was exactly my point.
From what I know. in most places macbook are really popular for coding.
We're talking primary school programming here. Honestly, any laptop would do (except some would be way cheaper). Battery life on macbook is great, but if at the end of the day, OP has to install a virtual machine to run windows software because they are using WeirdLanguage which has an IDE that is Windows only... You see the point.
I can see that. I have no idea what programming pri school does now. But I am going to assume honestly, it's on a Web site with some Web based editor. I highly doubt they make them install anything at all.
Got it. I wouldn’t want to do some virtual machine. Thanks.
Also get ipad, some schools even P1 can get subsidized ipad, Term3 onwards.
Kid has my older iPad mini. Thanks
Macbook air is currently one of the best value for money laptops in its price range. and I say this as a windows and mac user who is constantly trying to find decent cheaper laptops
I don’t know what program the school will use, i’ve used VScode and Pycharm with no issues on mac
It’s better to check with the school on which software and platforms they will be using. My guess is office and / or online websites, none of which are particularly spec intensive.
That said, he shouldn’t be required to bring his laptop to school either, and it will be a while before he is assigned any form of online work (familiarising P1 students with their online accounts take time also).
Your child will also be getting an educational Google account together with free office subscription. You won’t go wrong with a MBA, but it’s likely also overkill for his needs.
The school I teach in uses Chromebooks: cheap, and they do the job. When we set work, we make sure that the work can run on a Chromebook
The other device we recommend is any Windows device, but only because Windows has the largest market share, and there's a high chance our students will use a Windows computer eventually
Valuable advice. Thanks
Agreed on that. Most schools tend to default to web apps because that's what they know will work with the least hassle, and you don't need to get the students to install anything extra on their end. A Chromebook can be had for cheap and you don't have to worry about viruses.
Reminds me of the MacBook users in my Python programming class.
The hoops they got to jump through to install certain anaconda packages make me feel glad I chose windows as a starting point as opposed to my MacBook.
A pain in the ass hahah the lecturer had to do 2 explanations for windows and mac users
i'm glad you're making this investment for your kid.
macbook air is good. light and small profile for daily carry, plenty of computing power. IMO running MacOS isn't as troublesome, but that's coming from me and my high school classes. I prefer coding on mac and my biased opinion would say just get a mac from the start if you can afford it.
Yea MacOS just seems more user friendly compared to windows.
If you're getting the new Air. They are on ARM instead of x64. There are more support for the M1/2 chips now but sometimes I run into program that doesn't run on ARM.
Macbook Air 2017/2018 pre-owned - a good starter laptop for your Pri kid.
Look for Apple’s Refurbished Section.
Thanks!
Missed out Air. Amended.
Do check with your school if their platforms and software are Mac compatible. Also do note that coding classes are normally taught using windows as an example. So your kid will need to do their own conversion and I don't know if a primary 1 student is able to so
Apple products have parental lock. Will be useful for you. But you need another Apple product to manage it
Will an iPhone be good enough to control?
Or maybe I can register the MacBook to myself as an admin and add my kid as a user?
Yea iPhone works
yea its definitely good - safe ecosystem but you should armor the laptop pretty much as primary school students, probably too small to take care of them properly. Or just get them second hand plus with lots of armor.
get him a cheap ultrabook with good battery life, efficient and lightweight, like the lower model zenbook, may be a little finicky with some languages on windows, especially with non-compiled executable languages.
Or if you're comfortable, have a windows partition for rest of the school work, and a ubuntu partition for everything programming
something as powerful as an macbook air is eh for a young kid
Lost. GG liao
Why dont you get laptops with higher ram? Windows is more "coding" friendly
Wow, I would just give the kid a 200-500gb windows laptop for his personal use. MacBook is more for secondary school kids or poly kids imo. Also I use MacBook air before for coding, from my experience I prefer windows since windows is compatible with most softwares, while MacOS aren’t so I had to use VM to run windows.
My kid bro, loses his water bottle twice per week. It is a phase of life they go through, an extremely forgetful phase of life.
How do you want to learn this lesson? With a Mac Air or with a 2nd hand desktop?
Haha true. But it will be more of a use at home device.
Oh, he bumps and drops things every other hour. Perhaps it will be a good idea to secure the MacAir to the desk.
Anws I know every parent wants the best for their child, nothing wrong there, but perhaps go easy with the branded stuff when they are young. I experienced this raising two kid brothers that schools nowadays are pretty toxic, lots of boasting and comparing.
You do not need your kid picking up those traits before learning to be humble, plus you have to let them have a taste of our own upbringing in the past.
You don’t need a MacBook Air to learn coding. Sign up for an account at www.repl.it and they have almost all programming languages there.
School work is probably just MS Office stuff and web based apps. Getting a MacBook Air is overkill.
A macbook air is a great laptop, im currently using it HOWEVER if its going to be used for coding you may want to reconsider. I’ve had to jump through HOOPS just to code on my mac. A lot of coding software isn’t updated enough since MacBooks only support a higher version of many applications while androids do not have this issue. As well as MacBooks having their own system that will reflect code slightly differently. I’ve had to download a windows system on my macbook JUST to code. Windows is much more universal id recommend a windows instead
Ah dang. Thank you. Ya I don’t wanna mess around with a VM or Parallels to get it to work.
I’m currently using a vm that’s had no issues though! Always an option because other than that, a macbook is great
Really? What ide are you using and for what language.
My old company were on either macs or Linux for coding. Unless the new chips have such issues I am really surprised. I know they were using up to M1 macbook pros with no issues.
C and C++ and i’m using a pretty old app thats only at 32 bit and the newer macs cant support it
Yeah that's like an edge case I guess. I see it mostly work well with macs nowadays
I work in IT and my private notebook is a Macbook Air M1. I guess it should be more than enough for a primary schooler.
P.S., My kids are 14 and 12 and they have a Macbook Pro 2015 and a Macbook Pro 2012 (my old systems).
Get them the cheapest 2nd hand laptop or a hand me down or something
They will break something or spill shit on it within a few months 🤣
It's very basic stuff for pri sch.