[SWLUG] Laptops for primary-school kids (was 'Tesco selling Linux PC's')

[Richard John]

I'm still unsure whether or not there is a need for primary school
children to have a laptop.
Primary schools have IT suites for use in school time, and they aren't
really required at home (primary homework, if any, tends to be sheet
work).
I think these would just end up being used for MSN etc.
If you were going to fund laptops for school children, surely
secondary school children, who require internet access for research
etc., would be more worthy recipients.

On 10/26/07, Dafydd Walters <dafydd at walters-home.net> wrote:
> Rhys Jones wrote:
> > This news report doesn't mention Linux either, but if you unpack it,
> > it suggests that every primary schoolchild in Wales be given a
> > sub-£200 RM/Asus Linux-based minibook:
> > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7061021.stm
> >
> > (I'm assuming that the 'laptop' being talked about is this one:
> > http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/10/09/rm_asus_launches_minibook/ )
>
> I've got one of those mini laptops (the Eee PC 701 model) on pre-order
> myself, as I think it looks like an excellent (and inexpensive) tool
> that I can take with me pretty much anywhere (it's not much bigger than
> a typical novel).
>
> Having viewed the Flash-based product "quick guide" on the Asus web
> site, I have to say that I think this mini laptop looks like it might
> also be a great tool for kids. It appears to come with built-in
> educational and art software, and integration with interactive learning
> web sites.
>
>    http://eeepc.asus.com/en/guide.htm
>
> If Adam Price's proposal to supply laptops to primary schoolchildren in
> Wales was done right, I think this could be a good thing.
>
> I don't think that giving an OLPC XO laptop to every Welsh schoolkid
> (Plaid's original idea) was a good idea. The XO, which I'm sure is fine
> for children in underdeveloped countries with little or no previous
> exposure to technology, is probably too basic for children in this
> country. The Eee PC is closer to a "real" laptop, and if the right
> software was put on this device, is could potentially provide a real
> advantage to Welsh primary-school children.
>
> If this is to go ahead, I think it's very important that all the
> software should be available in both English and Welsh languages from
> the start. With a fairly limited set of pre-installed software, it
> shouldn't be difficult to make sure that everything is properly translated.
>
>
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