Interesting Times!

Saturday, 21 June 2008

I am sitting here working on my minibook as usual and I noticed that there is an article about the RM Asus Minibook in the Times Educational Supplement this week...

Ben Egerton thinks that while the minibook is not perfect it could be just right for schools. I agree with some of Ben's reservations but like Ben think that overall it is a magical little box of tricks... small, beautiful and almost perfect for schools and young people. If RM could increase the screen size and get it a bit cheaper still the RM Asus Minibook would steal every show!
Chris

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hi Chris,

Are you on an RM commission or what? As I said before, the RM Minibook appears to have some serious limitations, not least the inability to easily combine with existing networks and the screen size that messes up the appearance of our learning platform. They have also yet to provide a mobile internet 'dongle-type' solution. The Windows version will probably be expensive and the LINUX can't run most of our legacy software.

The TES article was very basic and didn't address these issues. Have any Leeds schools actually tried using a job lot of these? I hear almost nothing strategic from Ed Leeds ICT in terms of really detailed case studies. I appreciate that you have had a positive personal experience but does that necessarily translate at a school level? I have a Mac at home that is the absolute business, but integrating ten into school has been a pain for many of the reasons I suggest could apply to the minibooks. People always go 'Wow you've got a cool set of Macs', but I always explain the pros and cons in practice.

What do your ICT colleagues think of the minibooks, and how do they disseminate their professional opinions to the likes of me?

Peter Harris
Farfield; 23 June 2008 at 21:26
Chris Edwards said...: Hi Peter,
I wish I was on commission. I welcome your feedback which highlights the limitations of the minibook. I'll ask my ICT colleagues what they think are the strengths and weaknesses of this little black notebook I am working on now.
Chris; 23 June 2008 at 22:47

Brilliant Quotes!

“I must accept life unconditionally. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition.”
Margaret Lee Runbeck

“Happiness is not in our circumstances but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.”
John B. Sheerin

“Most true happiness comes from one's inner life, from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life is difficult to achieve, especially in these trying times. It takes reflection and contemplation and self-discipline.”
William L Shirer

“The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase: If you pursue happiness you'll never find it.”
C.P. Snow

“Doubly rich is the man still boyish enough to play, laugh and sing as he carries and emanates sunshine along a friendly road.”
Charles R. Wiers

"Faith is not a shelter against difficulties, but belief in the face of all contradictions."
Paul Tournier

"Convictions are the mainsprings of action, the driving powers of life. What a man lives are his convictions."
Francis C. Kelley

"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger; but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can."
Sydney Smith

"It is often just as sacred to laugh as it is to pray"
Charles R. Swindoll

"Things never go so well that one should have no fear; and never so ill that one should have no hope"
Turkish proverb

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself"
Chinese proverb

"Don't bother to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
William Faulkner

"In times of change, learners will inherit the earth,while the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists"
Eric Hoffer

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
John Lennon

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
Robert F. Kennedy

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
Mahatma Gandhi

"Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way."
Abraham Lincoln

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"There is nothing in life so difficult that it cannot be overcome. This faith can move mountains. It can change people. It can change the world."
Norman Vincent Peale

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein

"Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take but the moments that take our breath away."
Anonymous

"Patience and perseverence have a magical affect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
John Quincy Adams

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and woman to win them."
Ralph Waldo Emerson