(Great song – edgy video from 1992)
What is the power of one computer in a classroom.
When I “relocated” a computer from one spot in our school to my desk in my classroom (2004?) – and connected it to the Internet it, opened a window. Every day, we gathered around my desk, and we looked. Let’s see what penguins in Antartica are doing right now. I wonder what the Eiffel tower looks like right now. I wonder if we posted one of our stories right now, would someone read it off the website.
One of the things that makes computers in the classroom great is the capacity for right now. It doesn’t matter what the device is, but the ability to make stuff happen right now. Maybe what we need right now are more desktops in classrooms. They are cheap, they connect to the internet, they last a long time (usually).
The iPad, the iPhone, all flavours of Android Tablets, Android Phones. Laptops, and some of the more durable netbooks. These devices are coming into our schools right now. Read about the future of technology, and right now doesn ‘t seem like the right time to buy a desktop. Right now people think schools should use laptops or tablets, and not get desktop computers. I am not yet sold. If you have a small budget, don’t dismiss the power of one computer in the classroom.
