I got my hands on two mini laptops at ACPE this week, the CTL 2go PC and the HP 2133 Mini Note PC. Along the same lines as the ASUS eeePC and the XO, they promise to provide a low-cost device that is suitable for basic classroom use. The HP appears to be just a low-cost version of a regular laptop, whereas the CTL 2go sports a carrying handle and rugged case. The 2go is also less expensive: $379 for the Linux version. The HP keyboard is nearly normal size, whereas the 2go has small keys. While I am sure that these fit kids' fingers just fine, will they have any difficulty adjusting from full-size and small keyboard formats?

Although both models offer a Windows option, I can't believe that the computers would remain useful for more than a couple of years running Windows XP on an underpowered processor. With Linux, we would have to learn to manage Linux on the desktop for the first time, but the machines would likely last longer. We would also have the opportunity to choose a Linux distribution with a super kid-friendly user interface. We will evaluate and purchase a handful of these devices next year with an eye to purchasing classroom units by next summer. I would like to hear your experiences with inexpensive, classroom laptops.

tags: ulcpc, acpe08

I have learned that wireless access points don't die -- they degrade. Both at school and at home, WAPs become flaky in their old age, so that the wireless network exhibits problems easy to attribute to other issues such as channel conflict. I just upgraded our wireless access point at home after weeks of "a wireless error occurred" messages from our Macs. Thankfully, the new one has made our access point happier again, even though the marketing "RangePlus" gimmick still does not allow wireless to reach all the way to the bedroom (must be a PC thing). Our new AP: Linksys WRT100. The old, which served us well for years: Netgear WGT624. I also went a step further with wireless security this time, using WPA instead of WEP, locking down admin access to wired computers only, and only allowing known MACs online. I wonder whether manufacturers are actually pushing people away from WEP, since I couldn't quite get how to correctly configure encrypted WEP keys. If we ever have a 802.11n device in the house, this device is apparently compatible.

tags: wireless, 802.11g

Who do you believe?

E-Cycle Environmental

E-Cycle Environmental practices a no re-sell policy of any of the electronics we process through our organization, regardless of functionality. Obsolete electronics have no place in the modern economy for numerous reasons:

-Very few organizations will except donations
-Computers only a couple of years old are obsolete
-Companies can invest in new electronics for minimal cost
-Used electronics are usually very unreliable
-Obsolete electronics take up valuable square footage
-Obsolete electronics are tremendous liabilities

FreeGeek

FREE GEEK receives donated used computers and refurbishes them with care. They are then "adopted out" to volunteers in exchange for 24 hours of service in our recycling facility. We call this the "adoption program," and anyone willing to come down and work is eligible to join us and adopt a machine. The computer systems we create, called FreekBoxes, are loaded with the GNU/Linux operating system and other Free Software.

Any computer equipment, working or not, can be donated to FREE GEEK; we will repair and reuse what computers we can. Non-functioning computers and scrap will be recycled responsibly. Computers that are deemed obsolete or broken are demanufactured and separated into their basic components. FREE GEEK then finds a local industrial recycler to process the materials.


tags: ewaste, recycle

Apple has done it again. They join the ultraportable laptop party ten years late and still manage to leapfrog the competition in a single bound. Could this device take off in schools? Let's take a look.

I love the LED screen concept. Less energy consumption + no mercury or arsenic = longer battery life and less hazardous waste. I'm glad to see serious innovation in screen technology reach a mainstream laptop. Same for the solid-state hard drive. Though it's too expensive to become a popular choice, it's a sign of further innovation to follow. Neither innovation is likely to change school adoption dramatically, unless we start offering only models that meet certain sustainability benchmarks.

I hope Apple has made the case of more rigid stuff than that of the MacBook Pro. The say it's "anodized aluminum," which if not alloyed with another metal, will bend and warp easily. This could easily put increased pressure on internal components, causing the hardware to fail readily. In a school environment, our MacBooks and MacBook Pros are already extremely fragile relative to the tougher ThinkPads we also own.

People are bummed about the sealed case and internal battery. In our school, I know of no user who carries a spare battery. Typically, users purchase just one battery and then ride it until its performance is no longer acceptable. As long as it's not a bear to open the case, we should be able to replace batteries just fine.

Oddly, ultraportable laptops are not very popular at our school. I'm not entirely sure why. One would figure that, with so much to carry around, both students and teachers would appreciate the lighter weight and smaller size. A full-size keyboard definitely helps. Very few users like typing on smaller keys for long. Maybe it's the cost. Or the slower processor. Or the smaller hard drive. Or the lack of expandability. Or maybe our users are mobile but not "ultramobile," so they don't need an "ultraportable" computer.

Students and teachers lose their MacBook display adapters fairly readily. Now, they will also have an Ethernet adapter to misplace! Our collection of loaner video adapters will diversify some more.

802.11n? Not for a few years at our school. The cost of replacing all of our access points just to move up to the next wireless standard would be prohibitive. We only just got rid of our last 802.11b WAPs! We will likely get there through our regular replacement cycle.

Multi-touch trackpad? This seems a poor substitute for a tablet PC or multi-touch screen. I'm not excited.

Do I see correctly that there is only one USB port? That won't do for anyone who wants to use this laptop at their desk for very long.

High price will make it an unpopular choice for school-owned machines. I can't imagine the additional cost being worth it for faculty or staff, for instance.

Wow factor: huge. We have already seen a dramatic shift toward Macs in our student laptop program, in which students choose their preferred platform. Though the features don't scream "great for school," the dramatic lines and clean look may sway quite a few users. Ultimately, I hope our students stick with the more durable (did I just say that?), expandable, serviceable MacBook. The PC users have not gone for the ultraportable Thinkpad. Perhaps they will also eschew the MacBook Air.

p.s. Did Apple goof with the name? "MacBook Error?" "Air MacBook?"

I picked up a Blackberry Pearl today -- a nice mix of compact size and smart functionality. It also finally solves my two-phone dilemma -- when work provides the smart phone but you also need to own your own phone in order to place personal calls. The Pearl is incredibly thin, and I can do work email, calendar, appointment reminders, web browsing, to-do lists, notes, RSS feeds, maps, photos, and even music if I wish. It was dead easy to get onto our BES server at school. Best of all, I got the device for free (after rebates) at Car Toys and signing up for a new AT&T contract!

I have experienced only two quirks so far. The screen is pretty small, but I'll accept that in exchange for the ability to keep the tiny device comfortably in my pocket. GMail 1.5.1 doesn't work with my Google hosted domain, which is puzzling, since GMail 1.1.0 worked fine with my hosted domain on my Blackberry 7100i. I hope that Google is planning to implement hosted domain support on GMail mobile -- it's very handy to access work and personal email from the device but keep them separate.

I have very gradually been getting more accustomed to doing work on a mobile device. The usefulness of additional applications -- a whole suite from Google plus Newsgator RSS reader -- have really opened the door for me. I am sure that I will reach the limit soon. Nothing compares to a full-size keyboard and screen, and I'm just not that mobile compared to the classic smart phone road warrior.

Sure, I'd rather have an iPhone, but not for $400! ;^)

We're planning to take a look at Blackberries and cellphones on campus soon ... not for students, but for staff! We feel caught in a typical bind, in which the desires for innovation and cost control are in conflict with each other. My favorite innovations are cost effective (or even cost saving). For example, many of the web technologies we have introduced cost far less to adopt and support than their commercial counterparts. What about Blackberries and cellphones? The advantages are obvious. Blackberries allow us to monitor email while away from the desk, receive meeting reminders, make appointments quickly, and be available by phone anytime. However, the costs add up quickly per individual per month, when you consider the phone, minute plans, BES license, and support time needed to care for the finicky devices. It's difficult to estimate the value of intangibles when budget time comes around.

Other factors also affect these decisions. Tax laws require us to either not use the devices for personal calls or to track personal calls and then reimburse the school. Either approach seems impractical. One requires you to carry a second phone around for personal calls, and the second requires you to do a bunch of extra work to identify all of the personal calls in a bill each month. I would like to share the costs with the school, either by buying the phone and having the school pay for the plan or vice-versa. However, we don't yet know whether this is a legitimate use of school funds.

We hope to find a solution that meets the tax requirements of a non-profit organization, allows us to take full advantage of new technologies, keeps costs under control for the sake of the school, and allows phone-toting staff members to make natural choices about the use of the phones for business and personal purposes. Stay tuned in the New Year to find out what we do.

Smart Boards are another example of an exciting innovation with a high price tag. We have already committed ourselves to install ceiling-mounted data projectors in as many classrooms as we can. We would love to include Smart Boards as a standard feature in every room, but at $1500 each and considering the patchy pattern of adoption among our teachers, standardization seems undesirable. Instead, we acquire a few Smart Boards for the most active users and leverage our financial resources elsewhere.

I had a completely atypical customer service experience when I called Anthro yesterday. A customer service rep picked up the phone on the second ring, consulted with Engineering while I was on hold, and then gave me a very helpful suggestion to my question. The whole experience took about five minutes and completely solved the issue. Two thoughts occured to me: first, that I had a great experience, and second, that I wish that more companies ascribed to this standard! It so happens that Anthro is local (Tualatin, OR). and now that I think about it, many of the local companies have terrific support departments. Perhaps there is something about the friendly culture of Portland that makes it a good place to host a customer service center.

Now for the actual issue. Our Anthro LTSC30 alternates charging one side of the cart at a time, but we only use one side of the cart. Rather than purchase a new cart, we wanted to make it possible to charge just the sixteen laptops as quickly as possible. The Anthro manual helped us understand that we could increase the timer interval length to 100 minutes, and tech support suggested that we could connect the second bank of power outlets directly to an external source if we wished. We didn't adopt the latter suggested but instead connected all of the power supplies to the primary bank of outlets, increased the interval time to 100 minutes, and then instructed teachers to flip the external power switch to Off and then to Internal to reset the timer so that the laptops got a good 100 minutes of charge right away. We'll keep an eye on how well this solution performs.

The following diagram shows the location of the power switch on the cart. The timer adjustment is a tiny dial located below and to the left of the timer, easily mistaken for a screw head.

Recent discussions of the Eee PC, XO, Kindle, iPhone, and GPhone remind me of the palmtop discussions of nearly ten years ago. My principal at the time and I presented a talk titled "Ten Strategic Technology Innovations," in which we outlined a framework for evaluating new technologies by the degree to which they could support a school's mission. Our red herring was the HP Jornada, the palmtop device that looked promising but had serious limitations of connectivity and operating system.

What purposes do laptop computers serve at your school? Most laptop implementations I have seen thrive because the computers are versatile, nimble devices in the hands of creative users who put them to a great variety of purposes. The ability to use both web resources and download desktop applications, write to a variety of portable media, and connect to various networks are all critical features for the success of school laptop programs that I have seen. If a device is too limiting, the ability to find the right tool at the right time is compromised.

As was the case then, the new devices are too expensive and not capable enough to replace laptops. Why would one purchase a $300 device that's only capable of half if what you want to do, when you could buy a full-featured computer for $1,000? Screen size, durability, service plans, and maintenance should all be considered as well. For the moment at least, a mainstream computer is a better deal for the dollar.

At least, this time around, the small devices offer more mature operating systems (locked OS X, Linux) than last time (e.g., Windows CE!). Perhaps, ten years from now, we will see the palm-sized devices simply merge with the laptop in terms of features and versatility.

For years, PCs have dominated our upper school faculty and student laptop programs. Most of the teachers prefer Windows, and the year before last, three quarters of the students felt the same. Last year, the incoming ninth grade class went 50-50, half for PCs and half for Macs. We thought we had seen the end of the switch. Then suddenly, the balance was flung to the opposite extreme. Of the seventy laptop orders we have received only 10 are for PCs. That's right: 60 Macs and 10 PCs, more than a complete reversal of the ratios of two years ago.

Why did this happen? Until we survey the students, we can only speculate. Apple is gaining market share worldwide, due to the success of the iPod and the sleek design of the MacBook. Apple has certainly achieved "cool" status at school, especially for the usability of iTunes. The word has gotten around the school that Macs have fewer software problems (though not as many students have realized that the Macs experience more hardware failures). We have a number of Intel families that now have "permission" to buy Apple computers. Perhaps the most strongest potential causal factor is that we upgraded our lower school lab to brand-new eMacs when these students were in the fifth grade. Last year, these same eighth grade students got to use brand-new MacBooks and hardly saw a Windows computer during their middle school careers.

What implications follow for our teachers? For one, teachers of ninth grade students will have to accommodate the shift. We will provide "Mac basics for Windows users" training so that teachers feel more able to help students troubleshoot email, printing, and file transfer difficulties. Finally, many of the upper school teachers are up for system replacement next year, and I bet that many will take advantage of this opportunity to switch platforms.

Do you have a choice-based faculty or students laptop program at your school? Have you noticed a similar shift?

We have heard a lot in recent years about technologies designed reduce the cost of computer lab implementation. Several network-based terminal server solutions exist (Microsoft terminal server, Citrix, and K12LTSP), some are trying to build extremely inexpensive laptops (OLPC, XO), and others speculate about the potential for phones to meet the needs of some computing activities. Now, it appears that nComputing has come up with a device that allows multiple users to share the same computer without using the network. Based on KVM technology, the x300 allows one computer to run multiple keyboards and mice, kind of like a small-scale mainframe technology. Typically, the users would sit right next to each other, since the cables are meant to carry data and power over short distances. Like other resource-sharing solutions, this will work best for software applications where the computer itself is idle much of the time because the user is reading or thinking, for example word processing and web browsing. I would love to take this for a test drive!

Our low-voltage specialist on staff has spent the last year building up his knowledge of data projector installation through three on-campus projects. These first installations took a long time and ended up causing quite a headache. We spent weeks waiting for a local technician to assist with the installations, then we gave up on him, and Toby spent some more weeks finding distributors for the cables, face plates, mounting brackets, amplifiers, and speakers that he would need to complete the jobs himself. Now, we are sitting pretty with established contacts and the internal expertise to perform additional installations ourselves, moving our school more quickly toward the ultimate goal of an installed audiovisual system in every classroom. This summer, Toby is going to perform six installations himself, and we are wrapping another eleven installations into a construction project.

The cost savings is fantastic. We estimate the total cost of an installation to be in the neighborhood of $2,000, though installers will charge $6,000-$9,000 for similar work. That's all-inclusive: the data projector, speakers, VCR/DVD players, all labor (estimate based on salary), and all associated hardware. Installations included in construction are more expensive, but their cost is pretty small compared to the cost of renovating buildings. It is easier to work audiovisual installation into a construction budget than into our operating budget. We only plan to include Smart Boards in those classrooms where the teachers expressly want them, though the installations will be design to make the later addition of a Smart Board easy.

We have a number of new exciting podcasting initiatives in process. In one way, I feel like we are joining the podcasting party a year after everyone else, but in another way, this work didn't seem quite this easy until now. It also takes time for anyone to warm up to actually using a new innovation in the classroom.

The first is podcast by phone, which I have written about before as a proof of concept. I first offered this to the upper school students and teachers as an open resource, but adoption has been slow. The middle school was the first to try it with a class activity. Twenty middle school students and three teachers take an annual trip to Costa Rica to perform service work and meet students at a peer school there. This year, one of the trip leaders is putting in a call to our podcast channel every few days. This has proven a great way to keep parents and the rest of the middle school body in the loop on the group's progress in Costa Rica.

The other groundbreaker has been really small podcast recording devices. We have acquired a few Olympus audio recorders. They are really small, record in WMV format, and have built-in USB support, so you just connect one to a computer to copy audio files to your computer. The device controls are pretty easy to use to record, play back and file new recordings. Connect a small lapel mic to the recorder to avoid the device slipping inside the speaker's sportcoat! We also got a higher-fidelity Edirol recording device, but the practicality of the tiny Olympus devices have made them the popular choice for spoken presentations. Try free Switch to batch convert WMV to MP3 files.

These two means of recording podcasts have practically removed the possibility of technology being the obstacle to successful podcasting. I have high hopes for continued success as we roll out additional ways to podcast: Moodle plug-ins, and the "old-fashioned" built in computer mic and Audacity!

We have finally received the Smart Board 680i unit that we ordered back in August! Smart had a bunch of problems getting this product to market for some reason. I feel fortunate that we bought only one, since the troubles they experienced may spell further difficulties for us down the road. However, we are equally happy to have one of these units. The classroom has a vaulted ceiling, making the installation of a ceiling-mounted unit next to impossible. Also, the all-in-one unit is a lot less trouble to install than separate projector, audio speakers, amplifier, and Smart Board. If the unit proves reliable and easy to use, we will look forward to installing it in other locations where the ceiling structure does not allow a vertical mount.

The device itself is something of a marvel. Smart appears to have split up the projector components into two parts. The lens and lamp reside in a tiny enclosure over three feet off the wall, and the projector inputs are all back on the wall!

I will cross my fingers and hope that this announcement leads to a student-friendly laptop one day soon. Today's laptop computers seem geared mostly toward a business environment or home environment in which the user is mobile for only short parts of the day and treats the computer relatively gently. Students are mobile all day and are pretty hard on their laptops. Now all we need is a student-friendly operating system: one that cuts back on the bells and whistles in favor of stability, speed, and automated backup.

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