Lately, like many of you I suspect, I have migrated most of my stuff (documents, digital content, calendar, email, etc.) online thanks to the many web 2.o tools out there. Most of my computing time is spent using a computer like a "dumb terminal" accessing information stored on the web. That's why I am intrigued by these new small footprint devices that are durable and relatively inexpensive.
Since Apple has come out with their iPod Touch (the iPhone with no phone), I wonder how a device like that might play in a 1:1 environment. When I lived in Oregon, several districts around Eugene implemented a quasi-1:1 project with Palms and it was tremendously successful. Devices like that are even more portable than the ASUS Eee PC and even the OLPC unit.
As the "openness" of Apple allows more 3rd party application development, especially if we can get Firefox on the iPod Touch, then I can see this device becoming a viable instrument of 1:1. Right now, they cost about $300 and this surely will become more inexpensive at time goes on.
As I stated above, my digital life is becoming more and more dependent on the web and much of the work done by my students is performed and stored on the web. Having a small, inexpensive device that allows students to access their web 2.0 tools and to get their work done efficiently only makes sense, both productively and financially.
I'm excited to see many new devices that could make 1:1 a reality in many schools. What impact do you think small footprint devices will have on 1:1 and learning in general?
Thursday, November 29, 2007
One-to-One: The Shrinking Footprint
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2 comments:
I saw an Asus in action the other day. Kathy Schrock had it at the Christa MaCauliffe Tech Conference and it looked intriguing to me in my role as an assistive technology specialist. Had features that many students could benefit from including instant on/off, wireless, openoffice, very portable and lightweight although it has short battery life according to Kathy - about 3 hours.
I might start recommending it as a portable word processor alternative although I wish the price would come down.
What do you think of it compared to the XO? Any thoughts?
Karen,
thanks for dropping a comment on the blog. You know, if you are looking for an inexpensive word processor, you should be looking at AlphaSmart Neo or The Writer (http://keyboardinstructor.com/). I think the Writers are a MUCH better value than the AlphaSmarts. We have two 30-unit carts of Writers at our school and the teachers totally love them. They allow students to compose their work in their classroom and save valuable computer lab time for just formatting. The infrared feature is really good and it has keyboarding software built in that is no-frills but great for our Lang. Arts teachers to use on a daily basis. I think they cost less than $150 each and they can connect together. Cons: No internet and only text based. I've used these devices in adaptive technology situations with kids who are having trouble with their handwriting use them to compose their work.
I guess you have to look at the purpose of the technology and find what best suits your specific needs.
As far as comparing ASUS vs. XO, I have no personal knowledge of either so I really can't say.
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