Elliot: I left Ann Arbor where it was brutally cold (7 degrees), and landed in Austin – for TCEA and barbecue – where it was about 70 degrees. Yes, FETC is also warm, but no barbecue. Sorry Florida.
Since I am into mobility, I saw lots of mini-laptops on offer everywhere at TCEA. Asus has expanded their Eee PC line to include several different models. HP has also extended their Mini-Note series. Behind closed doors it was rumored that Dell was showing a ruggedized (read: student-friendly) mini-laptop. These little guys are lightweight, $300-$400, with keyboards that can even accommodate chubby fingers.
At M&A Technology’s booth, I played with the Companion Touch – Intel’s Classmate netbook/mini-laptop but with a touch screen! The Touch used a capacitive touch-screen, not a “Tablet PC” touch-screen that needs a pricey (if lost and it will be lost) radio-based stylus. From our experience, the touch-screen is a key component for learners; and with such a low price-point, I should think schools will find these devices irresistible.
Question: Will schools use the mini-laptops to replace older devices or will they buy the mini-laptops in order to expand access opportunities for students? And, what do “all y’all” think of the touch-screen version? – Is it worth a premium of $50 per device?
Cathie: I saw less emphasis on clickers and electronic whiteboards this year. I understand that in the UK, approximately 80% of the primary and secondary classrooms have electronic whiteboards. In chatting with a K-12 teacher, she made a very interesting comment about electronic whiteboards. She said that her district had been making good progress in moving to a more student-centered pedagogy, but with the "introduction of electronic whiteboards into classrooms, there was a return to a more teacher-centric focus".
I am curious if other districts have experienced this phenomenon?
Elliot: I did get to use my new 4000 megapixel, point-and-shoot, ultra-slim camera at TCEA. While walking the floor and gawking at all the high-tech, Cathie pulled on my arm and said: “Take a picture of THAT.“ High-tech equipment used to support good olde fashioned multiple-choice, drill-and-kill.
Cathie: I hope attendees had a chance to hear Raymond Hartfield’s “Mobile Phones for Learning!” He has a very provocative message that resonates with our focus on mobility in K-12. It is exciting to see that AT&T feels that sending their Director of Education to give a talk at TCEA is a valuable use of his time – and that TCEA accepted his session proposal!
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