This week we looked at computer components, did a construction of our ideal computer and learned a lot about viruses and other computer troubles. This is all very useful to me in my current role at Greendale High School. I am on a tech committee that is working to put together a plan for getting one laptop in the hands of every student at the High School. Since this week we have been looking at the hardware side of things it will help me in making informed recommendations to the committee and ultimately the school as a whole.
One thing that I've been having a little trouble with in our 1 to 1 implementation is the fact that the computer is great for word processing, but if you are trying to have students sketch quick graphs or diagrams computers typically are not as fast as good old pen and paper. I've experimented with having students take pictures of sketches that they make, but it has been unwieldily. I've also experimented with using the iPad as a tablet for sketching graphs, but the input is not precise enough to really do much drawing or annotating with ease.
Due to this class I found an awesome alternative: The ModBook. Axiotron makes a touch screen mac out of a MacBook. This is a great compromise to get students to be able to input into the computer in a variety of different ways. You can check it out for yourself at :http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook
This is a great find. Thanks for sharing it. How do you plan to use it in your classroom?
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