Technology & Learning - September 2008 - (Page 20)

PRODUCTREVIEWS PRODUCT: HP XW4550 WORKSTATION www.hp.com Retail price: Starting at $599 DESCRIPTION: HP workstation with 24-inch LCD display and 4gig RAM. HOW TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM: The power and price of this workstation make it an excellent choice for any school looking for a multimedia workhorse, especially in a CAD lab or a video editing lab. Its price also makes it feasible to use in a general purpose lab, thus extending the computing power to the general student population. PROS: The workstation was easy to use. It came with Windows Vista Business and Office 2007 Professional. The speed of the workstation was excellent. The clarity of the LCD display was superb. I was able to run four streams of video, plus a word-processing session, a spreadsheet session, and a PowerPoint session with no degradation in any of the video streams. CONS: The “flame” skin on the case of the workstation was too much. Other than that, I see no problems with this unit other than the problems you have with any workstation you place in a classroom. OVERALL IMPRESSION: This unit is an excellent choice in any K-12 location. It has more than enough power for any education task and the price is reasonable. HP also does one thing that is a little different from many other manufactures: they use different technologies in their workstation line and in their consumer line. This makes the workstation line a much more rugged machine and allows it to stand up better to the wear and tear of the K-12 environment. All-in-all, with the price, the speed, and the durability, this is an excellent computing choice for the K-12 classroom, office, or anywhere else. PRODUCT: EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS’ DIGITZ AND FREEZE UP www.edin.com Retail Price: Freeze Up $25.99, Digitz $49.99 DESCRIPTION: Digitiz is a multiplication math game (actually 5 games in one) that allows the user to practice various math skills. Freeze Up is a word association game that asks the user to name a word that begins with a specific letter in a specific category (name a state that starts with I). HOW TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM: Digitz can be used to teach and reinforce multiplication facts. By making it a game, many students will find it easier to learn multiplication facts than in a regular classroom. This is especially true for special-needs students and English-as-a-second-language students. Freeze Up is an excellent game for ESL students to practice coming up with words in specific categories that start with specific letters. PROS: Both are fun, easy-to-learn games that could be used up through middle school. CONS: Both are simply electronic versions of “flash cards.” The BIG problem I have is there is no way to keep track of student progress with either of these. Freeze Up at around $26 seems like a good value. Digitz would be better priced in that range. OVERALL IMPRESSION: The products look durable, but I am not sure how many drops they would take on a hard school floor. Both either require batteries or a power adaptor. If a teacher uses batteries, this is an additional cost factor. If she uses a power adaptor, she has to find outlets to run the game. 20 | TECH & LEARNING http://www.hp.com http://www.edin.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - September 2008

Technology & Learning 9/08 Contents Editor’s Desk News & Trends Put to the Test Lessons on Leadership What, You Worry? Back Office Business How to Get your MEd Online What’s New Student Response Systems Get Smarter Leader of the Year Profile: She’s Got Game

Technology & Learning - September 2008

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