1:1 Laptop initiatives and cost

In looking at 1;1 initiatives there are many possible hurdles that need to be overcome. Many are technical in nature, but some are instructional and institutional. On top of these hurdles are the fact that it is expensive and if it fails, fails dramatically and can sour a district on future technology investments for years to come.

In many cases, laptops that are used are full-fledged machines. Apple's products are usually mentioned, or Wintel TabletPC's. I'm a big fan of Apple's included software; GarageBand, iTunes, iPhoto. Apple's GUI is unsurpassed in easy of use. It is an elegant and education focused company.

Yet do student really need machines as powerful? Do we need to sink the money into capability that might never get leveraged. Especially when applications are moving online? With the new eePC, OLPC, HP offerings, which cost half as much in initial cost coming out, should schools be looking at purchasing these instead?

The new student NETs that stress 21st Century Skills are centered on communication, networking and reserach skills. Practically, schools and teachers have to pick and choose the skills that they can teach. While applications are important, they are being shoved aside by the networking tools and web-based mediums.

Why invest in machines that are oriented towards local applications? Why not invest in basic, low-cost machines that are network enabled. Invest in robust connectivity and mechanisms that allow students to connect and exists safely online. Invest in school wide Flickr accounts. Investigate district Google email/document systems. Use Skitch, EduBlogs and wiki integration. Some of these are free and some aren't cheap. Invest in a robust support package- if one exists. At the lower price point would replacement be easier and more palatable for districts?

I'm given a MacBook for work. I didn't pay for it. I use Microsoft Word, kind of use iPhoto and use iTunes for my personal use. By far and away the applications I use on a daily basis are online. They are not installed, and the only one I pay for is Flickr Pro ($25 per year). I almost refuse these days to learn or invest time in a machine based application. Although I ended up 'compiling' my dissertation using Word, I wrote much of it online using Google Docs.

My package might include:

eepc: $500

Installed Applications:
Open Office with sync to Google Docs
Firefox with student extensions

Network Applications:
School Flickr connection
School Delicious connection
School-wide Google App suite connection
Google Reader Setup with feeds
Individual student EduBlog membership (500 students @ $3750 per year)
School wide Voicethread subscription ($600 per year)

With this package the student has a great start at online, networked collaboration. Training would concentrate on using applications to communicate. Students would be given an inexpensive laptop computer that would be half the cost of a MacBook. Throw in Moodle and possible NING usage and you can get close to a tool that is more affordable and usable.

The OS would be Linux, admittedly not as elegant as XP or OSX. Yet exactly what difference does it make? Right now I support both OSX and XP in school. We have 'issues' with both.

Questions I have center mainly around support and the robustness of the machines. However our MacBooks seem no more robust than our Dells.