Netbooks- iPads

   I think the idea of one-to-one computing is a great one and could be very useful in the classroom.  There are still some kinks that seem to need to be worked out and in the reading there are both pros and cons to look at with implementing the netbooks.  They would be a great resource for students to use as long as the school or all parents had the financial ability to provide them for everyone.  As we have all seen there are so many options and capabilities for furthering students education by using more technology.  The good thing is that over the years they have come out with so many different styles of netbooks with different capabilities and sizes that help give schools options.  I did really enjoy the section in the book that talked about even if you do the one-to-one computing with students that does not in itself make a difference in academic achievement.  As teachers we need to take these resources but also learn to rethink some approaches and begin to focus more on student-centered strategies and creating collaboration and communication through the class. 
     iPads are nice features to have in the classroom because of their many fun and educational applications as well as the internet access and the nice size for easy transportation.  The only thing about the iPads is that it is not an easy tool to have if you are wanting students to type papers because they do not have keypads and they do not have flash or adobe on them and so there are some limitations when using the web.  Then if you look at notebooks it is easy to see that the lower price really makes them a nice option for all the students.  They come in different sizes so you can get whatever works best for your classroom.  The chapter talked about how sometimes they have limited capabilities which some could think is a disadvantage or you could look at it in the way that students cannot get into as much trouble with gaming while they should be working.  Neither option is perfect but if the school is looking financially netbooks are the better option and can just as useful and helpful as iPads would be.