I read an interesting article today sourced from the Times on Line
and making it to our local paper (Dominion Post, Wellington). Governor Arnie wants to “terminate” the textbook to save money for the debt-ridden Californian economy. His reason, electronic devices and online learning are replacing the textbook and will save money for schools (his State budget) in the long run. Of course Arnie is going against his best instincts here. Surely the youth of today need to build up their back muscles by carrying around heavily laden bags of textbooks?
Arnie’s message, if perhaps for purely economic reasons, is of course an acknowledgement of where things are inevitably heading. Once institutions can see that an initial investment in web based and mobile learning tools and resources will save them money in the long run, the shift will accelerate.
An afterthought from a History Teacher: Didn’t another Austrian once try to destroy books? At least this one is a lot taller and doing it for the right reasons…
This is a follow-up to my previous post a month ago on Collaboration Webs and Mobile Tools. What has brought it about is the November issue of Interface magazine article titled “Would you look good with a mini?” (well worth a read). The article discusses the emerging trend of Mini Laptops and how they have become more appealing with the particular attractions being size and price.
It is hard to believe that only 13 months (October 16, 2007) ago the very first viable mini, the Asus Eee PC, entered the market. Interface now mentions 6 standard models in addition to the recently released Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (image shown) which I purchased recently. I first started looking at the minis about 4 months ago as an option but was reluctant to touch them because of the key board size and screen size – but I changed my mind once the keyboards came in at 90% standard and the screen could handle 1024px width (600px height) to prevent the nightmare of side-scrolling. Another feature I like is that it runs on Windows XP which, love it or hate it, is the standard for most schools including mine.
This is a truly fast evolving resource and I predict that Mini Laptops will become the standard wireless access tool for students NZ High Schools within 2-3 years.
PS. I am not an apologist for Dell but I do love my Inspiron Mini 9…
I read an interesting article today sourced from the Times on Line
