Teaching with Netbooks - Resources

[Tami Brass]

From recent listserve and Twitter discussions, it sounds like many of us are going to be using some sort of netbooks this year. My school did a pilot of the Intel Classmate Convertible this spring which has lead us to adopt them as our primary machine for our middle school 1-1. (Details of the pilot can be found on my blog.)

I'm spending much of my summer looking for resources and potential collaborations to help make this adoption more successful. So far, I've written a draft of suggestions for making the most of limited screen real estate. I've also started Diigo group dedicated to teaching with netbooks.

I hope those of you using netbooks or considering their use in the future, please join us in the Diigo group above and/or leave your suggestions for making the most of smaller screens in the classroom and beyond.

[Peggy Bloomfield]

Thank you Tami. I think I will be getting a Fujitsu Tablet for my use, as I do need the flexibility to move around.

[Tami Brass]

We've used it with an LCD, but note that there aren't screws for connecting the VGA cable. I corresponded with Intel engineers about this; they didn't anticipate it being connected to projection long-term, and space economy was a greater need. If you try this, I'd start with a brand new cable and plan to keep the computer stationary. We had a teacher who tested one in her math class, and as she frequently unplugs her tablet from the cable, the connection was somewhat stretched. It was frustrating for her and her students.

[Peggy Bloomfield]

I am very interested in the Intel Classmate Convertible's capability to be connected to an LCD and projected as an "inexpensive whiteboard". Has anyone tried to do this with any success? I will buy one netbook/tablet this fall to test with the hope of replacing our all of old equipment with netbooks for K-5 in early 2010. Thanks to all for your help via blogs and discussions.