One Term On

As term two has already started I feel it is really important to reflect on our first term with our Asus Eee PC's. I'm pleased to say that the novelty has definitely not worn off. In fact the enthusiasm for using the device has grown rather than declined. The biggest skeptics of the machines are now it's biggest advocates. Those whom preferred to write rather than type can now see the benefits of being able to reshape and edit their work. Those whom preferred to draw on paper are developing their creativity using the inbuilt Drawing and Paint programs. And those whom preferred to use their larger Windows based machines at home see the compactness of the Eee PC as a real convenience.

From a teaching perspective I am really impressed with the inbuilt Open Office Suite of software which offers everything that Microsoft Office does.
Mozilla Firefox and inbuilt connectivity to the internet is superb which enables seamless connection to our school Moodle and Elgg sites.
The web cam is a very useful and a well utilised piece of hardware.
The machines seem to be very durable and robust however a few screws have come loose and we have lost one keypad. Screen size is no longer an issue, solved by using zoom and the 'fn' ALT' option. Processing and storage capabilities are acceptable, if machines are kept clean and tidy.

Over all the Asus Eee PC is an excellent machine for it's sub $500 NZ price tag which enables creativity and the development of 21st century skills.

However, I have found there are a few things the machines can't do. Apparently Shockwave doesn't work on the Linux operating system, which means that there are a few interactive maths and language games we can't use. There also seems to be a bit of an issue uploading to some Web2 programs. I think this is due to a combination of low processor speed of the Asus, low internet bandwidth at school and lack of Linux compatibility with some Web2 program but I can't really be sure at this moment in time so I'll have to wait and see what happens when we improve our internet speed at school. Storage capacity is limited with the 4GB hard drive capability but I have been able to load and run additional software onto my machine including Gimp, Alice, and Google Earth. Obviously you are restricted to Linux Xandros compatible software which does limit your choices and while Alice is a viable option to Scratch (Windows based) for developing programming skills their seems to be nothing comparable to Garageband (Mac based) for music development

I've also been unable to print to our colour printer as apparently the printer doesn't have a Linux driver. And finally one that annoys the technician, when you upgrade software it upgrades the desk top icon file so any buttons and icons you have installed have to be reinstalled again but well you can't have everything can you ? not for $500 anyway.

Flickr or Photogallery (Moodle)

I just realised I forgot to post this, so in case you don't know what I mean about the Yahoo ID problem her it is
Dilemma solved and all it took was one little button - copy image URL- in Mozilla Firefox that is because you don't have the same function in Explorer. For years now I've struggled to where I should put shared pictures for my class to enable not only easy upload ability but easy access for all (parents/kids/web2 programs etc). I know the obvious place would be Flickr but given that my students are only 11 there is the Yahoo ID problem to overcome i.e you need to be over 13 to get a Yahoo ID (some over protective American internet safety rule if you ask me). Not to mention the annoying double password issue and 100 Mb upload ability. Well now I don't need to worry because since we've gone over to the bright side (Mozilla Firefox) thanks to our ASUS Eee PC's, we can use the -copy image URL-button to get the URL link from Photogallery on Moodle and paste it directly into any web2 program we like. Putting the photo's on photogallery is so much easier not just because I am familiar with it but because the login is the same as Moodle which inevitably is also the same as our Elgg site. An issue which may not be of concern to secondary schools but for the primary sector is a must. Not that I would advocate primary schools stop using web2 tools and opt for an out of the box solution without the same functionality and real world connectivity and transferability but we do need to be very careful to ensure we don't cause password anxiety.

Movie making options on the Asus Eee PC

These are the web2 and localised movie making options that I've investigated and presently selected to use on my class set of Asus Eee PC's unless the class start to bring their own mobiles to school that is.

Asus Eee PC in built web cam and microphone to record.
zamzar (web2) and winff (localised) to convert .ogg to .mpg
jumpcut (web2) and Kino (localised) video editors plus audacity (localised) to manipulate sound.

While my long term goal is just to use web based and pre installed software on the Asus our internet bandwidth is not sufficient at the moment for us to rely on web2 applications and the Eee PC does not presently come with a pre installed video editor so icon buttons have been made for the localised programs and a script is been written to install them onto the classes computers.

All programs talk nicely to each other (after a web cam update and universal firefox uploader installation) and give students uploading and embedding options in Elgg (our eportfolio/private social networking site)

Kino is a very basic video editor but will suffice short term and for some reason unknown to me the Asus won't upload any file to animoto or eyespot (even after installing the firefox universal uploader) so it's back to good old jumpcut and oh yes that Yahoo ID login problem.

Mobile phones should be made compulsory in schools

Mark, myself and (A) the technician have spent the best part of this week working out movie making and publishing options for the classes Asus EeePC"s (and I mean the best part, you know the bit between 11 and 3 when the suns shining and you really should be doing something else).
But I have to ask myself WHY? WHY? have we spent what seems like an eternity working out options to convert low quality ogg webcam images to mpg format so that they can be directly uploaded to Elgg (our private social net work) or manipulated by a video editor to produce low quality movies.
The simple answer is because we needed to be able to upload our interviews with our grandparents to Elgg, because we need to be able to manipulate sound and edit movies later in the year. And yes I know now we can all do it because we've all got web cams on our Asus's and an inbuilt microphones. But WHY? oh WHY? aren't we just using our mobiles. Mobiles that don't need a program to convert the files, mobiles that have better sound and image quality, in built editors and their own personal technician (owner) WHY? because the general consensus is mobiles should be banned in schools. Banned I ask you? The one thing that I can guarantee you, in 10 years from now will be proven to have made a significant improvement in students learning is banned. Never mind banned it's about time we started making mobile phones compulsory in Schools.

World Maths Day

Was it just me or did anybody else have difficulties logging onto www.mathletics.com yesterday? At first I thought it was the Asus's not being able to handle the shockwave but no surely not. Then I wondered about the browser, I do remember a year or two ago firefox struggling with a few plug ins but that was a long time ago. As I roamed around the school I realised the windows and mac machines were having the same problems so I asked the ICT guys to check the internet and see if anyone was using up the bandwidth but no that wasn't the problem. So I can only conclude it was at their end and their servers couldn't cope with the load. It was a shame really because it's a great challenge to compete mathematically with others from all around the world. I had a free class subscription to mathletics last year and this was by far the best part of the site. I dare to say though that I opted not to pay the $20 fee per child to use the site this year. I think I would of happily paid $5 or maybe $10 but $500+ per year per class that's a lot of money. While mathletics had some good features like student support I couldn't help thinking the activities were just like worksheets on the computer and it wasn't long before the kids got bored. Quite frankly their are a lot more interactive virtual manipulatives out there for free. Okay so they are harder to find but who ever said life was easy.

Camp Week

A whole week without computers but as I sit planning my lessons for tomorrow I can't help thinking - an opportunity missed. Why couldn't the students upload their pictures immediately, post their reflections each night, check out the weather and where they were going each day. Beats me they all had their mobiles and PSP's with them. Maybe next year but I fear we might still be waiting for those elusive data charges to come down for a year or two yet.

Problems to solve

After taking the Eee PC's home for the first time this week we came across several problems to solve.

1) The most obvious and probably the easiest to accomplish is that students, parents and even telecom need instructions on how to connect the devices to the internet at home. This is out of my technical expertise and one I'll need to pass over to the ICT department to organise but if we are to roll the computers out to other classes one we'll definitely have to do.

2) Wireless issues - not having the Asus's on our roaming wireless network made homework for 'Boarders' and students going to 'After School Care' rather difficult especially when I'm still reluctant to give out worksheets. However the ICT department are working on this and hopefully this will get resolved within the next couple of weeks.

3) Security - computers going home on Tuesday's and Thursday's (sports nights) were a real nightmare. It wasn't too much the issue with the children who finished sport at the normal time as the classroom was locked and the children told it would be opened up after sport. However those who needed to finish early or catch the bus caused real security issues. I couldn't leave the door open for them and I didn't think it would be safe for them to leave their computers in the changing room (we don't even let them keep their clothes in there). ? Not sure what to do about this ? Maybe they could leave them in the Management Centre to pick up on the way home but that would be a lot of through traffic?

4) Computers left at home/needing repair etc - 'Please Miss I've left my computer at home','Don't worry dear we have a spare one'. Recommondation is that you keep a 3% surplus to cover these issues but I didn't really expect to have to use it this soon.

5) Forgotten passwords - Unfortunately the ASUS's Linux operating system has a security and password setting which can only be removed by re-imaging the machine. Not that the children were told to set the password but children will be children. So inevitably the first machine had to be re-imaged.
Fortunately this was easily resolved by pressing down F9 which resets the machine to factory settings. It does mean that all the child's work is lost though. Not an issue in this instance but could be later on especially if more settings have been changed or programs installed.