Without being too cocky I do believe that I called this one right.  The net book (or as they call it on BuzzOutLoud the not-book) has taken the market by storm and is quickly populating Starbucks everywhere.

I’ve been asked by several teachers and parents to recommend a netbook.  Though I don’t feel comfortable recommending a specific product, I want to write a scenic overview from which you can take whatever you want.

Though several companies make these machines (I am waiting for the Fisher-Price netbook any day – the Pampers netbook?) i think there are three main players and two alternates in the field. Here are the big three in no particular order:

1.  The Asus eee PC

Asus was first to the game and have developed the form to where it is now.  The most confusing thing about the eee is that they have released SO MANY MODELS!  One needs to look at the stats very carefully when ordering in order to get what you want.

The eee is available at Amazon, where you can probably find the best selection and good prices.  If you are impatient, it is also available at Target, though they will only have one or two models

2.  The Acer Aspire One

Acer Aspire One

Full disclosure here, I have not yet touched an Aspire.  I have included it in this discussion based primarily on reviews I have read and the general reputation of the machine. Depending on model, the Acer is probably the least expensive for a quality product. The Acer can be purchased online and at Walmart stores as well as all the usual online sources.

3.  The Dell Latitude Mini

Dell Inspiron Mini

Dell was later into the netbook field, but they have entered with a strong machine.  The keyboard is probably the most comfortable of the three.  It is slightly more expensive than the others, but still a great deal.  I haven’t seen this machine available anywhere but directly through Dell, so you can’t try before you buy (of course we have one here if you want to look at it).

There are two other names in the field, the MSI Wind and the HP Mini-note. I

FORCE 1:  Expansion

The principle of web 2.0 is open communication.  It is hoped that these tools can help move us and our students from passive consumers to active participants and content producers.  The insular world of the office or classroom is passing and giving way to open models of digital communication.

As teachers we want to engage students in this brave new world.  A class is not limited to rooms of desks for five hours a week.  More than any time in history, education is available any time and any place.  I’m hearing exciting examples here and elsewhere of teachers conducting on-line discussions, encouraging student blogging, and even having students use tools like Twitter and instant messaging.  Some of these efforts are amazing.  Some are poorly devised and unsuccessful.  But all of them are important steps in expanding the definition and realities of education.

FORCE 2:  PROTECTION

Just as we have never had so many tools for communicating with students, we have never been as concerned with safety and liability.  The actions of the irresponsible and reprehensible have made schools and teachers rightly obsessed with safety and liability.  This force takes several forms including sheltering students from age inappropriate materials and giving them tools to avoid cyber-bullying.  However, it also relates to communication in social media.  When I hear about exciting examples of teachers using these tools, my teacher enthusiasm is always tempered by my administrator sense that this is a potential liability for the teacher and the school.

I’m not sure what the answer is to this.  I know that we can build some of these tools into our own servers so we will have greater oversight and teachers and students more protection.  But I’m not completely sure whether we do students good or harm by building up walled gardens when they will be spending their lives in a wilderness.

A student learning how to drive a car may spend a very short time working on a training course, but as soon as the basics are mastered, the student has to navigate city streets and freeways.  The reason for this is not that we want to put students at risk, but because there is no point in navigating a protected course…it’s not where they are going to drive.  Similarly, while we need to teach students skills and safety before they go out on the digital highway, this is going to be where they drive….uh, surf.

I welcome your comments.

Added to these platforms, we’re using other production and productivity tools from the net. I upload my PowerPoint shows to slideshare.com an then embed them in one of these blogs. The videos of the Tech20 workshops are uploaded to TeacherTube.com and then linked into WordPress. I’ve had fun with Xtranormal.com as an attention-grabbing communication tool. Finally, I’m considering after the new year to start putting out a weekly podcast.

At this week’s meeting of the MDTTT, I was so excited by the creativity and enthusiasm in the room. I know we are facing immense growth and with that immense challenges ahead, but I also know that Mater Dei will continue to be a leader in the new frontiers of educational technology and education…which in many ways is the same thing.
Blessed Christmas to you all with gratitude and respect.

Thinking further, though, I couldn’t help but wonder, “What, if anything, of this fabulous guide will ever be used?”  This is not a criticism of the textbook or of its selection because both appear to be excellent, but sometimes I worry about dying of thirst in an ocean of resources.

I think we all feel this.  too many resources is no more helpful than too few, and it is easier to do nothing when we can’t do everything.  Like no time since the advent of the printing press has so much of the sum of human knowledge been readily available to us…so why do I feel dumber all the time?

This is not an answer post.  I know that the answer is not to avoid new resources and new technologies, but it seems impossible to wrap one’s mind (much less the minds of all of the students) around every latest technique and resource.  I spend a portion of my week both at school and at home reading about new tech resources for school and for life.  I could easily spend all my time doing this, and that would be just reading about them, not trying them out.

So I suppose this is one with which I, and all of you, will need to struggle.  I guess that recognizing the problem is the best we can do at the moment.

All of the new netbooks (it appears that this is becoming the settled term for Eee PC’s etc.) have a built-in web camera, so this type of contact is possible with no extra software and no extra cost.  Since we have outfitted room 503 with Eee PC’s, I was wondering how this could be used.  

One application that I thought about was real-time access to outside resources.  A teacher could set up a call or interview with another teacher across the country or across the world.  The call could take place over Skype, and students could watch the speaker projected on the screen while asking questions.

Another thought I had was to mount a better video camera in the room and alloing a student who is ill to call in to a classroom Skype account and have audio visual access to the class.  Depending on how elaborate the setup is, this person could participate as well as watch.

I guess I’m talking about dabbling with distance learning.  We have all the tools to do this now.  The only thing missing is working out the logistics.

Does anyone else have ideas for use of cameras in the classroom or any other transformative program?

This week Google released the first significant new browser in some time.  The new browser called CHROME is currently only available for Windows, though versions for Mac and Linux are expected soon.  I downloaded the beta release and installed it on several machines including my office computer, my home computer and a few of the Eee PCs.

In a few words…I LOVE it.  It’s simple, and fast Fast FAST.  It seems very compatible with most pages and web applications (Acceditation Plus won’t load on it…which probably speaks in its favor).  It works with a tab design similar to Firefox, but the tabs run as independent programs, so if a web page or app. won’t load or crashes, you can close that tab and the others continue running.

I don’t want to take too much time describing and analyzing Chrome, so I’m including two links.

This first link is to a short (5 minute) video demonstrating the key features of the program:

http://demogirl.com/2008/09/02/screencast-tour-of-google-chrome/

This second link will take you to the Chrome download site:

http://www.google.com/chrome/

Why is this important?  The fact that Google is releasing its own browser emphasizes its committment to “cloud computing.”  In this model, the browser takes the place of the operating system, and applications run on web pages rather than on local machines.  This further supports the development of new UMPC’s (or “netbooks” as they seem to be called now).  

Give Chrome a try.

However, we don’t look at this (or any other new frontier event) this way.  We see these brothers as willing to try something new and willing to fail repeatedly before a limited success.  Without those who try and fail, no one succeeds.

I think it is the same way with educational technology.  This is a transitional period in the history of education.  The brave souls who try new programs and techniques often fail, and often count succcesses by the inch, rather than by the mile.  This is very hard for educators.  We don’t like to fail or to be less than good, particularly in front of the stduents.

No one questions the value of the Wright brothers’ “pathetic” achievement.  Most of the field of aeronautics today can trace itself to this event. And (and this is probably the most important and) people the field grew as much through analysis of the mistakes made as copying what was done.

So perhaps we are the “mistake makers” who will pave the way for our students to soar.  Attempts in this new field are valuable when they succeed and when they define the boundaries of what won’t work.  Someday our students will say, “I remember how badly he did that…it would be so much better to do it this way.”

To use one other analogy, in Medieval times (not the restaurant), those who began building a cathedral knew that they, their children, and grandchildren would be dead before the edifice was completed.  In the same way we have to keep working on this new building, secure in the knowledge that we may not see it, but we will have been a part of it.

If you could get any type of technology into a classroom, how would it change your teaching?  School’s out, so we don’t need to worry right now about our fears.  Fear is the easiest response when it comes to technology; talk instead about your dreams.

I’ll probably write more blogposts (I’m expecting three new UMPCs in the next few weeks and I’ll talk about each), but feel free to take this one over.

Thanks for reading, and thanks even more for writing!

Take care.