ICT in Education

I’ve just had the opportunity to test out the Asus Eee PC (aka RM Asus miniBook) and the HP MiniNote for a week, courtesy of RM.

I previously had a short play with the Eee PC so I won’t go into the specs of this again. I had the 701 version with the 7″ screen.

Here’s a video review of the Eee PC:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=779987817040415654

I’d definitely say this is suitable for some schools, particularly primaries, where there isn’t a need to install other applications or update what’s on there already. The price tag at under £200 makes it affordable to schools on a tight budget though if they can stretch to a little more then the 901 version with the 8.9″ screen would be better. The small keyboard would be suitable for pupils of that age too whereas older pupils and adult might struggle with it. Battery life lasting 2-3 hours is OK, not quite enough to last an entire morning but if shut down at breaktime it could. Shame it doesn’t work full with Adobe Connect/Breeze due to the lack of plugin for Linux. Hopefully this will be addressed by Adobe as more Linux-based UMPCs come on the market.

The HP MiniNote is a fully spec PC but in UMPC format. It has a larger 8.9″ screen compared to the Eee PC that I had and was running WIndows Vista Business. The full spec is:

• Operating System     Vista® Business preinstalled
• Processor     VIA C7 (R)- M ULV Processor 1.2GHz, 128 KB L2 cache
• Chipset     VIA VN896NB and 8237s SB
• Memory     DDR2 SDRAM, 667MHz, one SODIMM memory slot, supports up to 2048MB (2GB supplied as standard)
• Internal Storage     120 GB 5400 rpm SATA
• Display     8.9-inch diagonal WXGA (1280 x 768)
• Graphics     VIA Chrome 9
• Audio     High Definition Audio, stereo speakers, integrated stereo microphones, stereo headphone/line out, stereo microphone in
• Wireless support     Broadcom 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth (TM) 2.0, HP Wireless Assistant
• Communications     Broadcom Ethernet Integrated Controller (10/100/1000)
• Expansion slots     ExpressCard/54 Slot, Secure Digital (SD) slot
• Ports and connectors     2 x USB 2.0 ports, VGA, power connector, RJ-45/Ethernet, stereo headphones/line out, stereo microphone in, webcam
• Input devices     92% full-sized keyboard, touchpad with scroll zone
• Software     HP Backup and Recovery Manager, Roxio Creator 9, Microsoft Office Ready 2007 (purchased separately)
• Security     Kensington lock, Symantec Norton Internet Security
• Dimensions (h×w×d)     33 (at front) x 255 x 165 mm (does not include extra height for extended battery)
• Weight     1460 g with standard 6-cell battery and 1299g with optional 3-cell battery, 1116g with no battery
• Power     6-cell battery (55 WHr) or optional 3-cell (28 WHr) Lithium-Ion battery, 65W HP Smart AC Adaptor, HP Fast Charge
• Warranty     Limited 1-year pick up and return warranty (options to extend available), 1-year limited warranty on primary battery

Here’s a video review of the HP MiniNote:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1956863028424419353

This is an ideal UMPC for schools that want something that resembles a standard laptop but in UMPC format and want the capability of installing other applications. The larger keyboard is more suitable for those who would struggle with the small keyboard on the Eee PC. Also with it being Windows it works perfectly with Adobe Connect/Breeze. The 6-cell battery ensures it lasts at least for a whole morning in school. I have seen it quoted as lasting 4.5 hours though I found when using the optimised power settings and not constantly using it (and therefore it powering down between uses but quickly coming on again when needed) that I got longer than this before recharging was needed. The downside to the HP MiniNote is its cost – currently £385 (ex VAT) from RM. Much more expensive than the Eee PC (though you do get what you pay for) and more than some standard laptops, which you can get for under £300. However the power of this UMPC and its portability may justify the extra expense in buying this.

Tags: Adobe Connect, Asus Eee PC, Breeze, HP MiniNote, RM, RM Asus miniBook, UMPC

Today I visited RM and during my time there I had the opportunity to get my hands on the Asus Eee PC (or the RM Asus miniBook as they are calling it).

The Asus Eee PC is a mini PC that runs using a Linux OS rather than Windows (yay! ) and comes bundled with a whole bunch of Open Source (yay! ) software:

• OpenOffice for documents, spreadsheets, presentations
• Firefox (for Internet, of course)
• Thunderbird for email
• Pidgin for Instant Messaging (MSN, Yahoo, IRC)
• Skype
• PDF Reader
• Music, Photo and Video Managers
• A range of educational programs including TuxPaint
• A range of games (Solitaire, Sudoku etc)

You can see what is available and test drive some of this here: Asus Eee PC Online Interactive Demo

The specs of the Asus are:

• Mobile Intel Celeron-M ULV 900MHz processor
• Asus-developed Linux-based operating system
• 7″ TFT screen
• 256MB or 512MB Memory
• 2GB or 4GB Solid-State Hard Drive
• Integrated LAN
• Lithium-Ion battery
• Integrated IEEE 802.11b/g wireless
• Integrated webcam
• Integrated microphone and speakers
• Ports for external microphone and speakers or headphones
• Options of wireless 3G module
• 3 USB ports
• VGA-out port
• SD card reader

These are taken from RM: RM Asus miniBook

There’s an 8Gb model planned for next year. The solid-state hard drive should make it a bit more robust than a PC with a standard hard disc. The SD card reader is a nice addition as it means the capacity of the Asus can be increased beyond the current 2Gb/4Gb size without having to have a USB pen drive sticking out of the side.

Wireless capability will be great in schools that have this, as a group of children or a class can then be using the Internet from the classroom without having to trek down to the ICT suite.

Asus estimate that the battery will last for around 3.5 hours (depending on usage), which would be enough for half a day’s work before charging at lunchtime or at the end of the school day.

It is possible, although not that easy, to install other software on the Asus. Here are details of software that has been tried on it: Applications tested on the Eee PC

I am very excited about the Asus Eee PC/ RM Asus miniBook. I think it has great potential – more so that using PDAs in school. I can’t wait to get my hands on one again to give it a thorough testing.

So could the Asus be the “one laptop per child” that we’ve all been waiting for…?!

Tags: Asus Eee PC, Firefox, Linux, Open Source, OpenOffice, PDAs, Pidgin, RM Asus miniBook, Thunderbird, TuxPaint

I’ve recently come across WikiMindMap. This produces a mindmap based on the results of a search of Wikipedia.

I tried this with a search on Tudors:

Clicking on a + expands the branch. Clicking on the green circular arrows centres the map on that branch and displays all branches related to that. Clicking on the text of a branch opens up a new tab or window and displays the wikipedia entry related to that branch.

I think this could be a really useful research tool for pupils. Wikipedia contains a wealth of information but it isn’t that easy for pupils to use when studying a topic. Now they can access that information more easily and in a visually helpful way.

Tags: mindmap, wiki, WikiMindMap, wikipedia

At lunchtime today the BBC announced on their news site that they were suspending their BBC Jam service from 20th March.

BBC Jam was launched in January last year and featured prominently at BETT. It is an online learning resource for children and is designed to be used at home to support key areas of the curriculum. The BBC was to spend £150 million on it over five years and had already spent half of that amount.

The reason for its closure and the impending review is basically down to complaints to the European Commission from educational software companies and BESA, the British Educational Suppliers Association. They weren’t happy that large amounts of public funding (our licence fees) were being used to provide free content to children and they said the service was damaging their business.

So, are the educational software companies and BESA right and BBC Jam is damaging their business? I’m not so sure…

From my experience in Buckinghamshire schools, BBC Jam isn’t really used by teachers with their pupils. At least I haven’t come across a school who said they used it. So in that respect, it follows the BBC’s design which was not for use at school but for use at home. Educational software companies would therefore not be losing out on this front – BBC Jam is not replacing their software in schools. That only leaves the home market for BBC Jam to impinge upon. Again I’m not convinced that it has done that. Yes, there are 170,000 users registered with BBC Jam and, as it can be used without registering the number of users is potentially much higher. What I’m doubtful about is that this has made much of an impact on home sales of educational software. Many of the parents that I know just don’t buy educational software for their children. Their kids use the variety of free resources on the Internet instead. If software is bought for their children, it’s usually games for their PC or gaming console.

If the educational software companies are seeing a decline in sales, I think this is for other reasons rather than done to BBC Jam. Schools have had e-Learning Credits (eLCs) for several years now and I know that some schools are overloaded with software and struggling to spend this funding. Other schools are using their eLCs to purchase the software element of the new curriculum networks they are getting, so the money is going on software to cover the ICT curriculum rather than on software to support the other subjects.

So in a matter of days BBC Jam will disappear and the educational software companies will no doubt be toasting this. I wonder whether they’ll be celebrating a rise in sales in the coming months or whether the decline will continue…?

I do hope that at some point we get back the current BBC Jam content, even if there’s no further development to it. I’d hate to see £75 million of public money just go down the drain along with the individual home learning that BBC Jam brought.

Tags: BBC, BBC Jam, BESA, BETT, eLCs, Jam