The April Edition of Techlife Australia has an interesting article for parents on selecting the right device for student learning given the myriad of options now available such as laptops, netbooks, ipads and tablet computers.
With the future of the laptop rollout in schools in doubt after this year, it is likely that parents will pick up the bill in providing the technology needed to aid student learning in the classroom. Some schools already bill families levies for the hire of laptops for example schools managed by the Catholic Education Office Sydney have various levies associated with the hire of laptops to students.
To cut to the chase, the article recommends that for the time being, the humble laptop is the recommended device for student learning given that the programs and applications can operate more smoothly. The computing power needed on a laptop is there as opposed to the tablet and Ipad. Also keep in mind that tablets and Ipads are more for consuming content as opposed to creating content. Yes students have to consume content, but they need to also create the content to demonstrate to us as educators that they are indeed learning.
The article also provides useful consumer advice on selecting the right laptop, the essential features of a laptop needed for learning e.g processing speed, batteries etc, several laptops are reviewed plus options for either buying or leasing a laptop.
