Netbooks in the Classroom

Netbooks...I'm sure most of you know what a netbook is. In short, netbooks are a smaller, cheaper notebook. With the way the economy is, most schools are faced with budget constraints. And what better time to look at netbooks then right now. BUT are netbooks a good play with students...or teachers?


I wanted to write about netbooks since we are assisting a school district in evaluating them. In our process, curriculum drives a decision like this. Sure...netbooks are cheaper, but how long do they last? Do teachers need something bigger? AND netbooks are nothing more then a device that allows web browsing...what instructional value does that bring?

Where I see success for schools, is where they have applications and resources sitting on a centralized server either internally or offsite...in the "cloud". The netbook is used to access that server through a web browser. (Cloud...you may have heard that term, it may be where we are heading??)

IF you want to have media rich applications that require higher utilization, a netbook is not a fit. Netbooks are great for students but teachers require something bigger with more juice.

I want to know what you think. Do you have a netbook and how is it working for you? Thoughts of netbooks in schools?

Some articles on netbooks in education: A Netbook for Every Student & Are netbooks right for education?

Caroline Guth...

WILL YOU MARRY ME??