Unit 5 - Handheld Devices

Assignment:

Your technology director has given you a budget of $10,000 for the purchase of handheld devices in your library. Using the prices in Chapter 5 of Courtney as a general guideline, what would you purchase and why?

This theoretical library serves a middle school which consists of 1000 students in grades seven and eight. Each grade includes five teams of students (100/team). Each team has four core teachers, with elective teachers serving both grades. The budget of $10,000 for the purchase of handheld devices in the library is outlined below. Unless otherwise noted, all prices utilized are averages of those prices listed in Courtney (2007), chapter 5.

Eighteen MP3 Players ($150) for a total of $2700 will be purchased for use as fiction and non-fiction audiobooks for all subject areas. The MP3 Players will be utilized for podcasts in science, social studies, and language arts as well. They will be employed in the music and drama departments for music audio. Six Ebook Readers ($400) for a total of $2400 will be acquired to provide access to fiction/nonfiction books for all subject areas. Three Portable Media Players ($450) for a total of $1350 will be obtained to deliver videos for all subject areas.

Three Portable Gaming Devices ($175) for a total of $525 will be attained for use in math and language arts classroom for video games to reinforce math facts and vocabulary. All subject areas will use the portable gaming devices for web browsers as well. The audio/video capabilities will be utilized for student presentations in all subject areas, especially music and drama. Two Tablet PCs ($1500) for a total of $3000 will be bought to be used to record data in science class for class/field labs. Families who do not have computers at home will be able to check out tablet PCs for student use to produce word documents, presentations, spreadsheets, etc. The total amount for the purchases is $9975.

Cell Phones, Feature Phones, and Smart Phones were not included due to the cost of cellular networks. Many students have cell phones which may be utilized in the classroom for interactive polls and other multiple choice forms of assessment. PDAs were excluded because of the stylus form of input. Middle school students prefer keyboard and/or mouse formats to the stylus format. UMPCs were disqualified as they are reported to have “kinks” at this time. The purchase of Internet Tablets was excluded since may of its capabilities were offered by more versatile, less expensive types of devices.