Schools are hard hit to save money. We will see larger sizes, fewer bus routes, no field trips, less sports programs, no alternative education and more.  US schools will soon mirror schools in third-world nations if the money-drain is not plugged. Schools settling for Netbooks, in my humble opinion, are being short changed. 

Ask this question: Are the folks in high education in your state being told to only use the cheaper, less versatile net devices? I don’t think colleges can sell netbooks to their incoming freshmen wanting to major in computer science, engineering, or video production/media.  A comment on a blog fired me up this morning. It was all about how schools could use netbooks because they are used by “road warriors”. That is a completely difference world. What is good for working on a plane or in you lap waiting for a cab, is not what a 6th graders needs to learn how to master math, science, literature, foreign language, band, and all the 21st Century Skills. Preparing students for jobs that do not even exist is not the same.

What is the purpose of providing laptops in schools? Are they for students just to check their email, watch a PowerPoint(less) presentation of the lesson for today, or other light-weight tasks like this “road warrior” says he uses? If your answer is yes- buy all the netbooks your little heart desires. 

However, if you are about to shout–NO, Heck NO, then stay the heck away from these devices. Students do not use email unless they are trying to create a new MySpace page, or want to receive the latest sales from a retailer. They have cell phones for communication. They never watch the news and most never have time for YouTube, Twitter and this stuff. 

For my tax money, I want students engaged in a rigorous and relevant 1:1 program.  Students using devices that do more than what can be accomplished on much cheaper notebook paper. Worksheets do not build dendrites. 

For those that think spreading a few powerful machines around a school is good enough…well, that is a joke. If schools put a few powerful machines around a school, then tell teachers to roll it around on a cart- what if two classrooms need it at the same time? Just hope your son or daughter has the teacher with the computers that they can figure out more to do with them than watch videos. 

The bottom line to me is this. Netbook devices lock students only being consumers of information (lowest levels of learning). Full-featured laptops in a 1:1 learning program, support students becoming creators and generators of knowledge (higher order thinking skills). 

You get what you pay for.