EXPAND 5: Netbooks hit right spot for schoolchildren

Moses, A. (2009, January 29). Netbooks hit right spot for schoolchildren. SydneyMorning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/biztech/netbooks-hit-right-spot-for-schoolchildren/2009/01/28/1232818513771

This article is from the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia from 2009. I'm always interested in seeing what other countries are doing educationally with their technology. This article is from 2009 so it is very recent. In these recent years, the sale of netbooks have risen drastically making it one in 10 of all computers  sold. This growth is coming from parents who want to equip their children with simple low powered computers for doing homework. There is another reason why Australians are buying up netbooks. There is a Rudd Government Educational Tax Refund which allows parents to claim up to $300 or $700 for their children. Another feature of these netbooks that allows for easy transfer since they are light weight and easily portable. The article ends with a propositions for a new netbook being created that is durable and only usable for schoolwork. It will be interesting to see what happens with this new netbook.

While I do see the good impact that netbooks can have in the classroom, I still have some reservations. If computers are to be use in abundance at a school I really like the one-to-one correspondence of computers to students. A computer is only fully used when one persona is utilizing it. When groups are expected to work on a computer, usually it ends up one person doing all the work and not full collaboration gets done. Comparing netbooks to ipads, netbooks are closer in comparison to pc and mac laptops and desktop computers. Those types of computer require a lot of upkeep and troubleshooting becomes complicated. Especially if the students using the computers don't know how to keep good track of them. Ipads on the other hand, don't require much upkeep and is very simple to use.

While right now, it seems like schools are experimenting with ipads and netbooks to see which are better used in the classroom. It will be interesting to see which one will win out in the long run. For example, my mom's school that she teaches at in Japan has both ipads and netbooks for use in the classroom. Especially for her kindergarten class, they use the netbooks mostly but as my mom says,  "they are not too kid-friendly." Her kindergarten class has yet to use the ipads but their goal as a school is to incorporate technology into every aspect of school. It will be interesting to see which my mom prefers as a teacher of kindergartners in the future.