By Christopher Dawson, ZD Net Education
Ubuntu may not make the netbook sexy again, but it can certainly make it a more viable choice for student computing with lower long-term costs than other solutions might entail. System76 just happens to be one OEM that makes it easy to jump into Ubuntu (on netbooks and elsewhere). Netbooks still matter in education, especially K12. They’re cheap (almost to the point of being disposable) and fit well into small hands. They can often last through a school day and generally give students lots of what they need with few of the bells and whistles they don’t. With all the talk of tablets, netbooks remain the easiest, cheapest way to get kids connected to the Internet and taking advantage of ubiquitous computer access at home and at school. That being said, netbooks aren’t sexy or inspiring. Give the average teacher a choice between netbooks for his or her students and iPads all around and, chances are, the iPads are going to win out, even if the teacher can’t describe the relative merits of either platform. It’s not that the iPads are a bad idea for students, by the way. It’s simply that there are times when netbooks (or full-sized laptops, for that matter) will lend themselves better to classroom use than iPads. Like when a student needs to type. Or use a Flash application.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/education/can-ubuntu-revive-the-netbook-segment/4427
Share on Facebook