WILMINGTON, MA — Wilmington Public Schools Technology Director Neal Ellis released his holiday device recommendations earlier this week. Read them HERE or below:
Many of you are wondering what to purchase for your child this holiday season that will be the most effective tool for education and match with the goals of the schools while keeping the price down. I have come up with some specifications for you to use when looking for such a device.
To start, Wilmington Public Schools is “Google Apps for Education (GAfE)” district which among other things means that we employ Google tools and utilize the Google ecosystem. This means that Google-based products such as Chromebooks and Android tablets are the best fit.
Laptop Recommendation
If you want to purchase something that will be the most productive for schoolwork yet not break the bank, you should look at the Chromebook. The District is currently working on a 1:1 device initiative based on Chromebooks. More specifically, the Dell Chromebook.
The can be purchased for under $300 and connect your child to everything they need to do in school and have a keyboard. They are very light and mobile as well as simple to operate and difficult to corrupt. The Dell Chromebook is MUCH more durable and highly rated in comparison to other brands and is definitely worth paying a little more for.
Here is a link to a Dell Site where you can purchase a Dell Chromebook from Dell with our specifications already built-in. (Just click on “Recommended Configurations”)
Tablet Recommendations
Tablet Name |
Brand |
Screen Size |
Link |
Price |
|
ASUS MeMO Pad 8 ME181CX-A1 |
ASUS | 8″ | Amazon.com NewEgg.com Walmart |
$115 |
|
ASUS MeMO Pad 7 ME176CX-A1 |
ASUS | 7″ | Amazon.com NewEgg.com Walmart |
$110 |
|
Google Nexus 7 |
Google/ASUS | 7″ | Amazon.com Bestbuy Staples |
$129 (For 16Gb version. More for 32GB) |
|
Google Nexus 9 |
Google/HTC | 8.9″ | Amazon.com Bestbuy NewEgg.com |
$300 (For 16Gb version. More for 32GB) |
|
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10.1″ |
Samsung | 10.1″ | Amazon.com NewEgg.com Officedepot |
$300 |
There are many tablets on the market now and there are many good ones. One of the tablets that we use in the schools is the Nexus 7 which is a 7″ screen Android Operating system tablet. It sells for about $129-$230 depending on the model.
For the money you really can’t beat the Asus MeMo Pad 7 and 8. Here is a review by engadget.com.
If you are looking for a larger sized tablet I would recommend the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10.1″ screen with 16GB flash storage. One thing to note here is that Google Apps for Education now provides for UNLIMITED storage for students and teachers. The amount of storage on the device does not need to be that large since all documents and media are stored at Google. The number of apps that can be installed on the device is limited to the 16GB unless you are to purchase a memory card later on similar to that which goes in your camera.
The HTC Google Nexus 9 is a very nice 8.9″ screen sized device. Here is a review by engadget.com.
I would recommend a tablet purchase through Amazon.com since it is easy to purchase a “drops and spills” warranty by a secondary warranty provider. For $40 or so, you can purchase coverage for anything that your child might do to this device. These are available through companies like Square Trade, Warrantech, SmartGuard and Canopy.
Also be sure to purchase a good case for whatever tablet you choose. If you are purchasing one of these devices for a younger child, I would recommend the Bobjgear.com rugged cases or Fintie Kiddie model rugged cases.
Good luck and have a happy holidays.
-Neal Ellis, IT Director, Wilmington Public Schools
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