Video: K12 Netbooks

Here I take a look at some recent school-friendly netbooks, as a companion piece to an article in the June/July issue on the same topic.

And On That Note About 3D Educational Content...

Seems like only yesterday I was posting about this new 3D projector technology that everyone is raving about but acknowledging it isn't too significant until the content is there... wait, that WAS yesterday! And then today, Dolby sends me a press release about the new 3D educational content at the Connecticut Science Center. They must read my blog.

InfoComm, NECC... it's a busy time of year!

 
Well I haven't posted a blog entry in a while, as things have been pretty hectic lately. Last week had me at InfoComm/EduComm, while working on the August issue, and in a few days I'm off to NECC.

InfoComm was great, very busy and large, not too much of an indication of our Great Recession, though attendance was down slightly. About half a million products are competing for your attention, but I had some great meetings with Sharp, Hitachi, Extron, and Canon, just to name a few. Projectors were everywhere! A couple things stood out. First, I saw more and more 3D content on the show floor, due in large part to Texas Instruments' DLP, which boasts 3D capabilities in their projector chip. So a number of manufacturers had their own projector and basket of glasses. Funny though, they all essentially had the same demo images on display. Why? Because there isn't any content developed for it yet. Which is what I said in my conversations, this is a pretty neat innovation, but to be of any use in schools, you need the curricular content to back it up.

Also, I saw this CLASSPAC product advertised everywhere. This is a pretty unique one that stood out to me for two reasons: it's actually a package developed by a partnership of six different manufacturers, and it demonstrates a new trend in ed. tech: connections. The CLASSPAC is made up of classroom audio speakers, a screen, projector mount, connections and a control interface. I saw a number of companies with their own control systems for operating classroom technology, Calypso Systems and Extron among them. This trend makes sense as an increasing amount of technology is entering schools, operating all of them simply is harder and harder. Who wants six different power buttons, plugging in and unplugging components, walking across the room to turn the lights off and then back on, etc.? Infrastructure products supporting all of these components is therefore  becoming more important.

More on what I saw later!

FREE STUFF ALERT: Acer's Education Technology Initiative

Boy, the number of netbooks on the market has grown and grown, and you know what that means, right Basic Economics students? I see a hand, yes, there in the back? Correct. Competition. Sales, promotions, added features, occasionally lawsuits.... you get the picture. Well here we have a great example, Acer really, really wants you to like their Aspire One netbook and buy them in bulk for your district, and not those other ones on the market.... so they would like to make you an offer.
Acer's Education Technology Initiative (called Seed Unit Program on the site, oddly) is simple: sign up, get an Aspire One mailed to you for free, try it out for 30 days free of charge and then return it or buy it at a discount, and you're entered to win one of several prizes, including a fully Acer-equipped computer lab, or three runner up packages of up to 30 Aspires for an entire classroom. Fine print: you agree to two conference calls with Acer reps. Not a bad deal though, why not give it a shot?? Enter by August 31st. Better odds than PowerBall. And without that nagging guilt.

Fujitsu's New M2010 K12 Netbook

Fujitsu is not actually a merger of Fuji, Mitsubishi, and Ginsu... sorry to disappoint anyone anticipating a new sports car with built in camera that can slice through lead pipes with ease and still cut a tomato. In fact, Fujitsu of course has made high end electronics for a long time, but are currently setting their sights on K12 education in a big way, with convertible tablet laptops, tablet PCs and now this shot across the bow of Dell, HP, Asus, MSI and every other would-be school netbook maker.

Released this week, the M2010 is a 10.1 inch, 2.5 pound, Windows XP based little dynamo with an Intel Atom processor, 160GB hard drive, Bluetooth, integrated wireless of course and a 90 percent of full size keyboard, all starting at $449. Nothing too mindblowing there, but it just goes to show you just how popular such netbooks have become, every company wants to make one, and no doubt Fujitsu will sell a whole ton of these to districts.

QProducts' Elementary Desk Up For Design Award

 
I've been receiving all kinds of press releases lately.... unusual ones about things other than projectors, netbooks, yada yada, so it's refreshing to be able to post about something different. A couple have been interesting desks, believe it or not. This desk, for example, from QProducts--which doesn't appear to have a company Web site but you can purchase through sites like Amazon, Ultimate Classroom or School Outfitters--has been nominated in the International Plastics Design Competition. And how much school furniture can say that? The Star Trek-ey unit is made from a single piece of 100% recyclable polyethylene, no screws, joints, pieces or stuff than can break off. It's supposed to also be ergonomic and comfortable, and has a book cubby in the base. It comes in two sizes for grades 1-4 or 5-8, left- or right-handed, five colors, for about $100 each.

My only question is: can students still stick gum to the bottom? If the desk could prevent that, we're not just talking plastics competitions, this thing would win the Congressional Medal of Freedom. Or at least something from the School Custodians' Union.