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"LAPTOPSDESKTOPSTABLETSPHONESSOFTWARECAMERASHDTVSPRINTERSMORE  Top SearchesOnline BackupWindows 8AndroidiPad TrendingiPhone 5CDMA vs GSMWin 8Sports Headphones HomeProduct GuidesLaptops & NotebooksTabletsBudget-Friendly Tablets for School Budget-Friendly Tablets for School Can't cough up the half-grand to tote a new iPad around campus this semester? These six very capable Android tablets come at a fraction of the price. By Eugene Kim August 22, 2012 0 CommentsGoogle 1 Share 29 Tweet 18 Submit 9230 Share 0 Pin It 0 EmailPrint It's that dreadful time of year again. Your beach tan is slowly fading and the warm days of carefree existence are quickly slipping away-it's time to get back into the school groove. A shiny tablet, like the New Apple iPad, might help cure those back-to-school blues, but that $500 entry price likely has your student checking account shuddering in fear. The thing is, though, you can get a very capable tablet that lets you watch videos, hit Facebook and Twitter, read books (even textbooks!), and do much more, for less than half the price of an iPad. The first question is: Do you even need a tablet? The short answer is probably not. If your intentions are strictly academic, which, ahem, I'm sure they are, then a simple laptop should do you fine. Tablets lack physical keyboards, have relatively small screens, aren't very good at multitasking, and have limited printer support-all crucial needs for the budding scholar. But there's more to school than academics. In between all those carbonated beverages, you'll want to unwind with your favorite TV shows, movies, music, and games-and that's exactly where tablets excel. They're lightweight, easy to use, fast and responsive, and perfect for media consumption. Plus, there's an ever-growing selection of apps at your disposal to help your tablet do even more. There are plenty of cheapo tablets out there, with shoddy builds, aging hardware, and outdated software, but there are also some excellent bar

"The Million program encourages students to be excited about their own education and work hard in class. It connects the things they like outside of school with things they learn in school. And it all begins with something every kid wants: a free, limited edition, personal mobile device."

This is really interesting... read the press articles to learn more about this. It's not clear who's behind it from the web site, but it looks like it originated from an innovation group at Harvard.

"Abstract:      This research brief is a contribution by the Youth and Media team at the Berkman Center to its Student Privacy Initiative, which seeks to explore the opportunities and challenges that may arise as educational institutions adopt cloud computing technologies. In order to understand the implications of cloud services for student privacy more holistically, it might be helpful to examine how technology that is already implemented in academic contexts is used by youth and to explore how students feel about current practices. Towards this goal and informed by our recent research, the brief aims to make visible the youth perspective regarding the use of digital technology in the academic context, with focus on privacy-relevant youth practices, limitations on access to information, and youth's relation to educators in a high-tech environment. The brief includes insights and quotes gathered through a series of in-person focus groups as well as data from a questionnaire administered to all focus group participants. In addition, it highlights in a few instances additional research and data."

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) today released the third and final monograph from its three-part 2011 Compendium, titled "Small Size, Big Potential: Mobile Learning Devices in School." The monograph explores the growing use of mobile learning devices in schools and how such initiatives are positively impacting student achievement. In its examination, the monograph provides detailed examples from districts across the United States that are pioneering this innovative transformation of the 21st century classroom.   

"Presented by Marie Bjerede, Founder, e-Mergents and Project Manager, Learning Un-Limited,  with Tzaddi Bond, 5th Grade teacher from Portland, OR With educational technology, it's not about the technology…except when it is. Join us on October 17th for our community's next webinar where we'll see how the availability of Android mobile devices for every student in Tzaddi Bond's 5th grade classroom removed obstacles to independent learning. Marie Bjerede, Founder of e-Mergents and Project Manager at Learning Untethered, will discuss how Tzaddi's students shifted towards a greater sense of agency, deeper learning, and more sophisticated achievement. Tzaddi will share how she was able to make bigger shifts in practice towards a "guide on the side" model of teaching and learning that would not have been possible without the Android devices. During the session, they also will describe the practices and policies that drove improved student outcomes. Co-hosted by edWeb.net and CoSN Sponsored by AT&T and the USC Rossier School of Education Visit the Mobile Learning Explorations community"

Sixty-two percent of parents surveyed said they would buy their child a mobile device if it would be used for academic purposes. "Many parents, teachers and administrators are now mobile device users themselves, which has increased their appreciation and understanding for how these devices can support and enhance learning," said Julie Evans, chief executive officer of Project Tomorrow.

Tim Cook said there are 2,500 classrooms using iBooks textbooks right now, which Madan says is still a relatively small number. He does expect, however, for that to increase in the coming years. As schools allocate money to set up computer labs with limited funds, many find they can do it for less with iPads. The 'computer lab' has become the "iPad lab" and the lower price of the iPad mini helps even more.

So you're working on your school initiative, and you really believe in it, and you really want it to make a difference. And you are trying to pay attention to leadership for school change, and have certainly provided training to your staff and have made resources available.