EDUC 7108
Module 1 – Identify an emerged technology
A current technology that has recently emerged is the netbooks. With the idea of trying to get every child behind a computer in the classroom the technology in the netbook presents a whole new world where this original idea might become reality. Thornburg (2009) briefly explains according to the global idea of “going green” why the netbooks are more environmentally friendly then a laptop or a desktop computer. The netbook uses a mere 10 watts or less compared to the desktop which uses 150 watts and the laptop which consumes 30 watts of power (Thornburg, 2009). Recently my principle sent out an email stating that only necessary refrigerators would be allowed in the building and also all floor lamps were to be removed from the classroom. The county is looking at reducing the energy consumption in our schools which should save money and ultimately jobs. The lights and air condition/heating will be turned off in the evenings and also come on later in the mornings to try and conserve power consumption.
Some challenges associated with this technology are the size, storage capacity, and keyboard (Arrington, 2008). The size of the netbook can be an asset, but also have many drawbacks as well. The size of the screen is typically around 7 inches (Arrington, 2008) which is quite small and does not allow for entire webpages to be displayed at one time. However, there are larger netbooks now that have screens as large as 10 inches which helps to offset this previous negative. The storage on netbooks is also very small which is how the technology is kept tiny itself. Storage capacity range from 256 MB to 1GB (Arrington, 2008) which is not a great deal of storage and if programs that require a good amount of space on the hard drive are downloaded well then there goes a large chunk of memory and operating space. Finally the keyboard is roughly 80% of the regular size (Arrington, 2008) which will make it tough for any adult to type with this keyboard.
The societal need that netbooks are meeting is the demand for small, portable technology at a reasonable price. Cell phones are still part of this demand, but netbooks are more functional for students that are K-12 and higher education, use less energy, and are becoming more cost efficient. Netbooks are still considered small laptops (Bajarin, 2010) so the price of this portable technology is one of the main reasons behind this technology booming. Netbooks are competing in the same realm as laptops and PCs simply because of the cost.
This technology has already seen its rise and will soon see its fall. The netbook like previously mentioned is a smaller version of the laptop and many drastic changes have been made to take the current technology and basically shrink it. However, data and trends show that netbook consumption will peak this year (Bajarin, 2010) because of the introduction of the tablet pc. However what one buys will depend on how much creation or storage capacity is needed. For instance if you merely want to browse the web, check email, and watch videos then the tablet pc is ideal, but if you wish to create word documents or powerpoints in addition to the previously mentioned tasks while still having a small and light weight technology then the netbook is geared for you (Bajarin, 2010).
References:
Arrington, M. (2008, November 29). Three reasons why netbooks just aren’t good enough. Retrieved June 10, 2010, from http://techcrunch.com/2008/11/29/three-reasons-why-netbooks-just-arent-good-enough/.
Bajarin, T. (2010, May 31). Netbooks vs. tablets: How to decide. Retrieved June 16, 2010, from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2364302,00.asp.
Samson, T. (2010, June 16). Hacker: Apple iPad simply not a safe platform. Retrieved June 16, 2010, from http://www.pcworld.com/article/198986/hacker_apple_ipad_simply_not_a_safe_platform.html.
Thornburg, D. D. (2009). Current trends in educational technology. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.
