Journal 8: Choosing the Perfect Tools for One to One
Citation: B. Brouterse, J.O. Corn & E.O.Halstead, (2009, August). Choosing the Perfect Tools for One-to-One. Learning & Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved Aug. 5, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/Current_Issue/L_L_August.htm

Summary: This article centers on the issue of as the title suggests, selecting the most compatible appropriate technology equipment in particular, computer processing to get the most out of student education and teacher requirements. The article continuously expresses the significance of this. When a person is thinking about purchasing portable laptops for a school or district the article indicates six basic questions the buyer should consider prior to making the purchase. The primary question deals with purpose, is the piece of equipment single purpose or multipurpose? What operating systems are the administrators, technicians, and teachers accustomed to Windows, Mac, Linux? Is the school intending to establish applications/software by means of Web or CD Rom? Is the school intending to put in files. documents or presentations into a hard drive or Web? Is the equipment well-matched with printers, projectors, microscopes, or digital cameras? How long will the piece of equipment be able to function, deterioration, stability , battery life and virus protection? Finally, applying these six questions, the authors assessed seven products. And their overall findings and conclusions were that buyers should look at the overall quality of the equipment rather than the products price. Because what is initially low cost might end up costing more due to the poor manufacturing of the product and many other factors.

Q & A

What does the term “thin” refer to?
As indicated by the article, “thin” tools are computers associated with a network, they are not transportable.

What does the term “thick” refer to?
As stated in the article, “thick” tools are regular computers or laptops with regular working applications such as, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X or Linux.