Dell is hitting the education market in a big way with the release of several laptops and tablets geared toward the K-12 crowd, including the Dell Chromebook 11, the newest iteration of its Dell Chromebook line.

At $249.99 for the base configuration, the Chromebook 11 is Dell’s cheapest Chromebook offering to date, cutting the price by $50 from last year’s model.

The new Chromebook 11 measures 8.57 by 11.69 by 0.83 inches (HWD), similar in dimensions to last year’s iteration. It’s built to take a licking, as its chassis has been subjected to MIL-STD 810G testing for pressure, temperature, shock, and vibration. The 180-degree hinge design reduces stress on the hinge, and the rubberized LCD and base trim absorbs shock when the system is accidentally dropped.

The system’s 2.16GHz Intel Celeron Bay Trail-M dual-core CPU with integrated Intel HM77 graphics is a faster chip than the 1.4GHz Intel Celeron 2955U of the previous build. Memory options start at 2GB DDR3L RAM, with a maximum of 4GB.

The base configuration sports an 11.6-inch anti-glare HD LCD, but you can opt to upgrade to a touch screen made of Corning Gorilla Glass. The keyboard’s layout is made specifically for use with Chrome OS, swapping out the Caps Lock key on the left with a Search key, and having the top keys made for Chrome OS functions.

Connectivity is par for the course for a Chromebook. It has a USB 3.0 port with BC1.2 charging for peripherals, a USB 2.0 port, and an HDMI port. A spring-loaded SD card slot allows you to augment the system’s 16GB solid-state drive. Wireless connectivity comes by way of 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0, with an option for LTE service.

The Dell Chromebook 11 is available immediately from Dell.com(Opens in a new window) in the U.S.

Other announcements(Opens in a new window) today include the Latitude 11 Education Series for $299; a non-touch version arrives in March and a touch-based laptop lands in June.

Dell also tipped a new Android-based Venue 10 tablet, coming in the spring, and the Windows-based Venue 10 Pro, which arrives on March 3 starting at $329.99.

For more, see PCMag’s roundup of The Best Chromebooks.