Mobile Curriculum Computer Labs 15
KraZFoo writes "Apple has come up with an innovative idea: make a computer lab curriculum-specific, and mobile! Each lab comes with iBooks, a printer, and an AirPort base station. Depending on the curriculum, other components like digital cameras, video cameras, science equipment, specific software, etc. ..." There's nothing new about mobile labs, but I've not seen ones tailored to specific curriculums, and besides, this one is really cool.
If MS started doing this (Score:2, Offtopic)
It would give new meaning to the term "crash cart"
Other Uses outside the classroom? (Score:4, Interesting)
They could be especially useful for organizations or companies where most employees don't have/use laptops on a regular basis. They could even make a smaller version of these carts which could be used for portable outdoor instant networks, for conventions, rallies, or other instances to set up an "instant network".
Oooo fun fun fun. (Score:1)
It's a great idea that apple have been doing for a while.
But there is one flaw.. the kids always out smart the teachers in the end.
Re:Oooo fun fun fun. (Score:2, Insightful)
In time, the student will become the teacher. It's the teacher's job to learn from his or her students and make sure that doesn't happen just because some computers fall from the sky.
-/-
Great idea, but... (Score:2)
But does Apple realize how cold and drafty portable classrooms get during a New England winter? It's hard to type when your fingers are frozen stiff.
But--wait--fortunately, we've got global warming. Good, I was worried for a minute there.
They are cool (Score:4, Informative)
K-3? (Score:1)
Re:K-3? (Score:2)
Re:K-3? (Score:1)
Ow. owowowowoww.. now most words in the english dictionary look spelled wrong. Thanks
Re:K-3? (Score:2)
Interesting expansion on their original concept (Score:5, Interesting)
This could easily work in a small business scenario. My company has 12 employees and everybody is on macs except myself. They issued me a Compaq but within a month I have purchased my own iBook, and the Compaq is used as a server. I am always worried that it is just too easy for somebody to grab one of the LCD iMacs and walk away from the office without anyone noticing. Once I started carrying the iBook to all my meetings the other employees started whining that they wanted iBooks too, but I told the powers-that-be that I am not going to trust these people with remembering to chain their iBooks to their desks whenever they were not at their offices.
A cart like this would rock, since at the end of the day I could pick each iBook as I leave the office and lock it in the cart. Next morning I know all the iBooks will be safe and charged, so no distractions with people chasing for open power plugs 5 minutes into a meeting just because they forgot to recharge their iBooks.
A school I consult at is doing this. (Score:5, Interesting)
It is a very effective system. They get to share the laptops, and can use them anywhere. They will generally use them in the classrooms, or one of the commons areas. They have about 80 laptops available (for a school of 450) that are rotated around on these carts, and they have enabled the school to get by with only around 80-90 workstations in what could be called "computer lab" locations (this is a very wealthy private school, which uses a non-traditional teaching environment, so they don't have actual computer labs, or a library either, instead they use a "commons" system).
However, although the school has a decent amount of Macs, all of the laptop carts are Compaq.
Carts have been available for some time (Score:1)