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Location: Blogs Dan Maas, CIO |
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| Posted by: Dan Maas |
2/5/2008 9:08 AM |
The sub-laptop or the UMPC is a new trend in mobile computing. Smartphones are hard to use for much more than reading email, tapping out a quick reply and perhaps playing some MP3 music. The need to write more extensively, to be able to run a video on a screen that has sufficient resolution to make the video useful is overwhelming the smartphone move. So does that mean we all need full-blown laptops?
The UMPC is an approach that provides a reasonable size keyboard and screen, full access to the web and the ability to create and edit word processing, presentations and spreadsheets. The ASUS Eee PC is on the marketand being tested in LPS. The Everex Cloudbook CES 2008 is coming soon. Expect the battle for this market to become very hot. So far, our students at Heritage HIgh School that are testing the Eee PC love the tool...
Personally, I have liked the Eee PC and even bought one for my son for Christmas. He doesn't use the desktop PC at home anymore. I'm very curious about the Everex because of the claim of a 5 hour battery. The Eee PC is about 3 hours and no 9-cell battery is yet available. |
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Re: The UMPC or Sub-Laptop |
By marj mcdonald on
2/17/2008 2:10 PM |
| UMPCs represent a renewed hope for 1:1 computing at the elementary level because of its affordability, size, and suitability. Our latest survey of staff (Jan. 2008), teachers (21 respondents) share their desire to increase students' access to laptops for learning. 81% of respondents (up from 50% in 2005) said that "providing laptops for students to use at school" are technology services they think have the potential to improve (their) students' success in school. 69% of respondents said that "more laptops" is the support they would like to make (their) use of laptops more productive. 83% of respondents said that they would choose "more" laptops for the school over speeding up existing laptops. |
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Re: The UMPC or Sub-Laptop |
By Charles Wimber on
3/6/2008 8:16 AM |
In looking at the UMPC Sub-Laptop and the OLPC XO, in the classroom and at home there are some considerations related to the Meraki routers used in the classroom and at home. I will send by snail mail about the Meraki routers.
Taking the "learning environment" slides for the K-12 principles like for a given type of classroom in LPS there can be indoor meshing in classrooms.
Yes, with an indoor router. The future will have outdoor routers. Like for the school campus or even in the school's neighborhood.
It is at this point that the equality of technology issue comes in. Where the incumbants have their barriers based on affordability.
I can see where LPS teachers and students can be very excited by
this new learning space environment. Yes, where teachers become coaches to facilitate learning as students can have displayed content to be learned and then how well that content has been mastered by each student. Where the barriers of the incumbents come in is where students do not have or are encouraged at home what could be displayed for a team effort or even an individual effort of some merit.
Last but not least I agree about trying to hit a moving target in terms of rapid and disruptive technological change. To me, open source software, open architecture hardware and open specturm vs forced migration schemes of private ISPs. Even so, being willing to risk by mastering new skills to meet the challenges of a global economy and society.
What I have found to be an equalizer is the USB stick used with a bare bones laptob or sub-notebook at home to keep up with peers. Yes, resistance by parents who resist the use of the technology. Yes, where peer to peer in a classrooms extends into homes to overcome have not
status of any type. Yes, like the paying of a fee for a device from the school. To me principals could be charged to look for students who may be in any tiype of have not situtation.
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