We've been hearing for a while that new computers are coming next year for the teachers. In K-8 we've been using macbooks for the last 7 or 8 years, and they've held up very well. We're switching to the following: Dell Latitude 3350 with Ubuntu 16.04. I know absolutely nothing about it, but our tech guy has pushed for a windows-based system (he prefers linux) for the last few years. We're switching computers because it's time for us to have a newer system for the facutly. We're going with Dells because Macs are simply too expensive, and it appears they won't budge very much on their prices, even though we need to buy about 40 of them, so this comes with a cost factor.
I've got quite a bit of saved work on my computer, all in mac format, and asked him about whether or not I'll have to convert it. He says we can use Google Drive to save all of our documents and then access them from our new Dells, and that the Google format will allow us to use the documents on any device.
I'm not a fan of putting all of my work on Google. At a school, I have legit concerns about hackers trying to see what they can find. I also am not a fan of Google having access to all of my documents, tests, etc.
1. How concerned should I be about these issues?
2. How much work is it going to take to convert mac-based documents so that I can use them on a Dell?
3. Is Google Drive secure and trustworthy?
I'd appreciate your help/advice about any of this. I'm reaching that point of being an old dog and this windows system is going to be a new trick. Talk to my like I'm an idiot if it'll help me understand more easily.