With one-on-one technology integration occurring in public schools all across the nation, there are many devices on the market that cater to providing the best, and most cost-effective, devices for students. The Dell Latitude 3190 Windows laptop is marketed as a way to “enrich education and empower students.” It is a portable laptop for student use that runs on the window operating system and is designed to work best with Microsoft programs. Additionally, it has a 180-degree hinge to convert into a tablet, a supposed 14 plus hour battery life to last the average school day, and created to be “kid proof” in terms of durability. These attributes come straight from the Dell website with eleven positive consumer reviews.
However, we all know that a device can look amazing on paper in order to get a district to purchase it for hundreds to thousands of students, and then not be so amazing in practical use. The Dell Latitude laptop was described as having a four-year life span before needing to be changed out, but often students in my district are only getting a solid year of use before the device starts having serious issues. Additionally, the durability of the device is not as perfect as it may seem with the 180-degree hinges often breaking or losing their function, and the screens constantly crack with the student’s harsh attempts at utilizing the touch screen. Protective cages can be used on the outside of the device, but they offer a false sense of security and often cause more damage when attempting to remove.
With that being said, the devices do allow teachers and students to embrace digital learning on a daily basis. In the research paper “Viewing mobile learning from a pedagogical perspective”, the authors detail how the mobile learning framework, or M-Learning Framework, is impacted by socio-cultural perspectives and usage of digital learning. The Dell Latitude is considered one of the more cost-effective choices for mobile learning with the devices costing on around $239 pers student verses higher end products like Apple. Additionally, the device integrates the M-Learning Framework’s approach to personalization when it comes to digital learning. Different aspects of lesson personalization can be accomplished by the educator who pushes out specific, individual content to students in an easier way through their devices, while also being able to work synchronously or asynchronously with students. Similarly, students are able to set personal goals with their learning and have control of the “place, pace and time they learn, and can enjoy autonomy over their learning content” (2012, p.9).
Overall, the Dell Latitudes are worth the price paid for them in terms of life span and durability, but they do provide access to digital education in a relatively easy and cost-effective way. These devices let educators in every classroom adapt their own pedagogy into the modern learning environment. I personally love to use them daily for differentiation and lesson practice!
References:
Dell Latitude 3190 11-inch laptop: Dell USA. Dell. (n.d.). https://www.dell.com/en-af/work/shop/laptops/latitude-3190-business-laptop/spd/latitude-11-3190-laptop
Matthew Kearney, Sandra Schuck, Kevin Burden, & Peter Aubusson. (2012). Viewing mobile learning from a pedagogical perspective. Research in Learning Technology, 20, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v20i0/14406
Hey, Samantha!
ReplyDeleteIt was so good to read your blog post.
I have a Dell Latitude laptop as my teacher laptop, but I am amazed by your assessment of this laptop. We are one-to-one in my school district, but our students are issued Dell Chromebooks. Only students who are in special programs within the district are given a special devices to use. With that being said, am I thankful for one-to-one devices, yes! When I first started teaching we only had five devices and having twenty plus students using those five devices was terrible. However, I do feel like different devices could be better for our students to use to enhance their learning. Two things I liked about the Dell Latitude laptop is that it can fold over to convert to a tablet and that they seem to be pretty kid proof. The reason why I would like for it to be a tablet it is because it is hard for younger children like kindergarteners to learn to type. As a tablet, student who could not type would be able to write instead. Then the laptops being kid proof is another great thing. The Chromebooks we use seem to be rather flimsy because they break all the time it seems.
I think reading your post and learning how to use these laptops to help enhance student learning shows that purchasing these laptops could be so beneficial to students.
Again, thank you!
Sincerely,
Courtland Smith