Category: Mini-laptops, aka netbooks

These are smaller, lightweight laptops that are typically configured with minimal memory and priced very economically.

Manufacturers and models:
Most of the major laptop manufacturers also make mini-laptops.

• Acer
• ASUS
• Dell
• HP
• Lenovo
• Chromebooks

Pricing:

The prices for these devices depends on how you configure them. They can be as cheap as $200 or as expensive as $1,000 or more. Devices suitable for mobile learning can easily be found in the $300 price range.

Strengths:

• Low cost
• Built-in keyboard
• High degree of flexibility in terms of use
• Full computing capabilities
• Relative stability of devices (especially compared with other mobile platforms)

Weaknesses:

• Generally not robust enough for advanced multimedia creation, such as video editing
• Less mobile than some alternatives
• Smaller screens can be a problem with some applications

Killer applications:

• Google Apps (word processing, spreadsheets, presentation)
• Anything Web 2.0
• Robust curriculum content
• Learning management systems (a place to serve as a “home base” for all your instructional resources and to track student use and achievement)
  • Wikis (basic)
  • Moodle (advanced)

Things to consider and some opinions:

• Configure to keep the cost low.
  We believe in less expensive hardware to allow the broadest access possible. While purchasers are often tempted to load up these devices with lots of memory, large hard drives, full operating systems, and costly software, none of this is really necessary. The whole point of “netbooks” is to use free or inexpensive web-based software and storage solutions.
• Good wireless is essential.
• Think about battery life and power requirements.
  Get a device that can make it through the school day without charging.
• Get good cases and let students take the devices home to maximize their effectiveness.
• Think about your curriculum goals before deciding on any devices.
  Mini-laptops are one of the most flexible types of mobile devices. They are particularly appropriate for writing and for older middle school and high school students.
• Preload the devices with as much content as possible.
  When students have access to content and a reason to use them for school, they are more likely to use them productively. (This means professional development for teachers as well.)

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Before you go out and buy a more expensive USB headset, you might consider getting a 3.5 mm headphone adapter:

If you’re interested, here are two models you can check out.

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After reading this collection, I have so many thoughts that I hardly know where to begin. Any personal interpretation aside, though, I think that anyone involved in K-12 educational administration should read this. It includes a very thorough compilation of legal cases related to student use of both school-owned and student-owned electronic devices (primarily cell phones, but the information is broadly applicable to other devices, as well as to social media and the web in general) both on and off campus.

So now for the personal interpretations, in no particular order:

• There are a lot of complex legal issues to consider, and many cases with contradictory findings.
• I worry that upon reading this leadership will run shrieking from the room and not even want to use electronic devices for instructionally valid purposes. (My experience, as well as that of others, is that when students are given instructionally relevant activities to do, improper use drops dramatically.)
• It’s a shame that this amount of exhaustive work on mobile devices and social media went into examining improper uses of electronic media.
• Little mention was made of constructive uses of technology, beyond to point out that now that schools have used electronic devices for productive uses, they will find it harder to restrict their use. Unfortunate comment.
• This is very indicative of the focus of most administrations on legal issues. If folks spent as much time on addressing real learning needs as they do on legal compliance and covering their collective asses, students would benefit.
• This report applies as much to broader student uses of the web and social media. There are some fascinating cases related to cyber-bullying and personal student web sites devoted to often juvenile (they are kids after all) student critiques of schools and school personnel. Personally, I worry a lot about restricting student speech (which is addressed in this report). For each of these cases, we should look a non-digital parallel example and think about how we would react to that. There is then the issue of publicness to consider — drawing an inflammatory picture is not the same as then photocopying that picture and publicly distributing it (or putting it on the Internet).
• Simply saying in a policy document that free speech and the Constitution will be respected is not enough if the actual polices are not consistent.
• There is a huge need for educating students about the publicness of the Internet (and mobile communications that can be forwarded, publicly posted, etc. in a single click), related legalities, and responsible and civil behavior. This is a 21st century skill!!
• I would love to use this document with a class of middle school students to have them engage in a discussion of the issues and then draft their own rules and acceptable use policies. Anyone game for that?

Please weigh in with your own comments on these issues and this report.

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1. Have a plant to use your laptops instructionally on a regular basis.If you use the laptops as a part of your regular instruction, students are much less likely to engage in off-task behavior with them.
2. Set up a classroom site (wiki, Moodle, etc.)  that students know to go to every day.Use this as your “home base” and link all other resources there. Include things like sponge or bell ringer activities.
3. Keep laptops on students’ desks during class (but remember that you can ask to have laptops closed when you don’t want students to use them).
4. Use the laptops for differentiating instruction and individual or small group activities.This is one of the most appropriate uses for laptops. It will also make your life easier if you don’t try to have the whole class doing an activity simultaneously on the laptops.
5. Give students a set of classroom rules to follow and include appropriate consequences for not following the rules.Remember to reinforce acceptable and responsible use issues. Make sure to include a rule about bringing the laptop charged and ready to use every day.
6. Use folders to organize students’ work.
7. Set up rules for file naming.Here is a suggestion:
   This will let you easily identify the assignment and student without opening the document and sort accordingly to put in folders. I like to make this a part of the grade for each assignment.
8. Have students keep a grid of their user names and passwords for Web 2.0 sites.Keeping track of these is one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced. Anyone have any great strategies for this?
9. Make students responsible for charging their laptops when they need it.
10. Empower your students to help solve each other’s tech problems.This is good for them and will also make your life easier. Designate selected students to be “tech squad” helpers. These students can be given special training and incentives for their participation.

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At NECC this year, I saw many attendees carrying new mini-laptops (also called netbooks) and talked to many planning large school purchases. A lot of people asked me which model is the best, and I referred folks to our comparison chart. If you have your own opinion about which model is best for schools, post your comments and experience.

While each has its pros and cons in terms of features, another consideration is which vendors know how to work with schools and will be around for the long haul. I like Dell in this regard. Not only do they work well with schools, but their new mini-laptop is ruggedized for kids and there is a cart available.

Another vendor that is doing well in the U.S. market is Acer. In fact, the New York Times ran an article this Sunday that says that Acer is poised to pass Dell and become the #2 seller of personal computers this year. That kind of market might makes for not only good prices, but longevity, always an important consideration in the mobile technology arena. Acer makes several mini-laptops that are good choices for schools to consider.

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Dell has finally come out with its much-awaited new mini-laptop (netbook) for education. The Latitude 2100 has a 10″ screen includes many of the features of other mini-laptops, as well as some unique features for education, most notably a ruggedized case. The starting price is $369.

There is also an optional touchscreen that could add some real benefits for education. (This seems to add only $30 to the price. Amazing!) Other add-ons include additional memory, hard drives (up to 250 GB)  a longer-life battery (recommended), an extended warranty, and even Vista. (This is the first netbook I’ve seen that could run Vista.)

Stay tuned for more reviews as these roll out.

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This is disappointing and doesn’t reinforce my previous assertion that Dell gets the education market. The consumer mobile electronics market continues to be a tough fit for institutional purchases.

Anyone else hearing other news on this or other mini-laptops?

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I got a Dell Mini 9 and have been comparing it to the eeePC. I’ll do a more detailed analysis later, but here are my first impressions:

• I was surprised that the Mini is nearly the same form factor and size as the eeePC. (I expected it to be larger.)
• The 9″ screen of the Mini is a vast improvement over the 7″ screen of the eeePC. (Note that Asus is phasing out the 7″ screen. But for those of you who have one, the extra 2″ makes a huge difference.)
• The keyboard on the Mini is not a lot bigger than the eeePC, but, for me, is much easier to type on. The keys don’t stick as much as the eeePC.
• I have previously been discouraged by the rampant change in the eeePC product line and the number of models. This is hard for schools to deal with. Having worked with schools extensively in the past, I was optimistic that the line from Dell would be more stable. It does have fewer models; however, I recently heard that they are phasing out the 9″ Mini already, after having just introduced it. Hmmm…

Overall, I think these mini-laptops are a great opportunity for schools to integrate technology through one-to-one programs. At prices as low as under $300, this may finally be the path to meaningful change if this technology is coupled with sound instructional strategies and foreward thinking policy.

More on mini-laptop comparisons and mini-laptop use in schools available here.

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A new wave of EETT money that was included in the latest stimulus plan could provide fast funding for this type of technology.

See this new rundown of many of the most popular mini-laptop models.

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