Netbooks - Netbooks in Education

Netbooks in Education

Netbooks are a growing trend in education for several reasons. The need to prepare children for 21st-century lifestyles, combined with hundreds of new educational tools that can be found online, and a growing emphasis on student centered learning are three of the biggest contributing factors to the rising use of netbook technology in schools. Dell was one of the first to mass-produce a ruggedised netbook for the education sector, by having a rubber outlay, touchscreen and network activity light to show the teacher the netbook is online.

Netbooks offer several distinct advantages in educational settings. First, their compact size and weight make for an easy fit in student work areas. Similarly, the small size make netbooks easier to transport than heavier, larger sized traditional laptops. In addition, prices ranging from $200–$600 dollars mean the affordability of netbooks can be a relief to school budget makers. Despite the small size and price, netbooks are fully capable of accomplishing most school-related tasks, including word processing, presentations, access to the Internet, multimedia playback, and photo management.