The Incredible Shrinking Desktop

As notebooks get thinner, desktop PCs get smaller, because they continue to share components and designs with their smaller cousins. Two of the newest and smallest are HP’s Compaq Pro 4300 and Lenovo’s ThinkCentre 92P Tiny. Compared to hulking desktops, they are diminutive and use less power, but can have a big impact in the classroom.

The Compaq Pro 4300 Small Form Factor (SFF) is not only a self-contained PC that’s powered by either the current or next generation Intel Core processors, but it can hold up to 16GB of RAM as well as up to 1TB of hard disk space. Still, the 4300 Pro SFF is roughly the size of a textbook or dictionary. It’s got all the security and remote management of a desktop PC and there’s a great optional monitor stand that with a display creates the equivalent of an all-in-one computer.

By contrast, Lenovo’s ThinkCentre M92p Tiny is correctly named because it is even smaller, as is seen by the photo at the right with golf balls. It can be outfitted with an Intel vPro processor for enhanced security and remote manageability as well as mounted on the back of a monitor.  While it can drive up to four external monitors, including projectors, the Tiny PC uses much less power than traditional desktop PCs. Despite its size, the M92 Tiny uses an Intelligent Cooling Engine so that it keeps its cool without sounding like a 747 on take-off.

 

LAN Power

Speaking of POE, Cisco’s Enhanced POE equipment can deliver not just data but the ability to provide up to 20 watts per port, one-third more electricity than the standard 802.3 af-2003 protocol allows. Need even more juice? Some of Cisco’s switches, like the 2960 line, use the 802.3 at-2009 POE+ system to put as much as 30 watts of power through a regular old Category 5 cable.

 

Less than Zero

There’re dozens of thin clients available that can reduce the acquisition and maintenance costs of school computing, but HP’s t410 All-in-One Smart Zero client takes this notion to the extreme. It uses so little power that you don’t even have to plug the t410 is an all-in-one client into a wall outlet because even though it has an 18.5-inch screen, the entire system uses only 13 watts. It gets data and electricity over its Ethernet line, assuming your school’s wired network includes the Power over Ethernet protocol. Inside is a system on chip ARM-based 1GHz processor with 1GB of RAM and 2GB of flash storage space. The key is that the t410 can work with the three most popular thin client protocols and it can be reprogrammed on the fly. Look for it this summer.

 

 

Great Classroom Tip

There’re a slew of capacitive pens for tablets these days that all look roughly the same and have similar active tips. Rather than a durable soft rubber dome or a felt tip, BoxWave’s EverTouch Capacitive Stylus is made of a soft conductive woven fiber mesh at the end of the pen’s aluminum case. The stylus is available in five colors, has a tether so it won’t immediately get lost and costs $15. 

 

 

The Class Board

All interactive boards are the same, right? Plus’s C-20 CaptureBoard gives the teacher the ability to combine and saves images with writing and drawing during a lesson. Items can be saved to a computer, memory key or even an FTP site, making the CaptureBoard C-20 one of the most advanced devices of its kind. These files can be played back on an Android or iPad tablet. The traditional 4:3 board measures 50- by 35-inches and sells for $2,300 while a wide screen version is 70- by 35-inches and goes for $2,500.

 

Listen Up

Whether it’s for a student podcast, recording reading passages or just a teacher making audio notes, there’s nothing easier to use than Learning Resources’s Easi-Speak USB recorder. Just press the record button and it can save up to 4 hours of record voice or music as a .wav or .mp3 file. It has an integrated USB connector for uploading the audio to a computer and a headphone jack for quiet-time listening. The best part is that there’re no batteries to replace because when it’s plugged into a computer, the microphone’s battery is charged. 

Your class may not even need specialized audio hardware if enough kids have iPhones. Photojojo’s Boom Mic can make recorded sound as crisp as if it were done in a studio. The 4-inch long microphone plugs right in and there’s a thumb screw that firmly attaches it to the phone or slate. There’re settings for near or far sources and it works with most iPhone or iPad cases. The $40 microphone uses one AAA battery and works with all iPads, the iPhone 3GS and 4 models as well as an iPod Touch.

 

Wide View of the Classroom

With classes getting bigger and bigger, fortunately classroom monitors are getting bigger as well, as is seen with Acer’s B243PWL. It has a 24-inch display that can not only show 1,920 by 1,200 resolution but has an ultra-wide viewing angle of nearly 180-degrees. On top of the expected VGA and DVI inputs, the B243PWL has a DisplayPort input. The $329 screen has stereo speakers, a USB hub and can be rotated right and left by 35-degrees and tilted 15- or 5-inches up or down.

Talk, Talk, Talk

While its name might sound like something a ditzy middle-schooler might say, the Airhead 1000 is actually a high-quality headset that can work with most classroom computers. It can make classroom audio – both listening and talking – more personal, quieting the entire room.

 At 5.4 ounces, the black Airhead headset is light yet comes with everything needed to integrate audio (both speaking and listening) into school without a classroom cacophony. It comes with several cables, a USB transceiver and a black velour bag that the headset can be folded up and stored in.

 Airhead is not only comfortable, but adjustable enough to accommodate a variety of different size heads from 10-year olds through high-school seniors. The entire device has an inviting soft rubberized coating and the ear cups are padded so kids can wear them for hours if needed. Unlike other headsets, Airhead’s stubby microphone doesn’t get in the way.

There are audio controls on the outside of the cups that makes using these headphones a snap to integrate into a lesson. It can take a little while to get used to how they work, though. In addition to raising and lowering the volume, I was able to control the media being played by stopping, playing and moving tracks back and forth.

The big breakthrough, however, is that it can be used wirelessly with the included 2.4GHz USB transceiver. There’s no software to load to get the Airhead to work. Just plug the USB transmitter into a computer and it’s ready to get to work. The device works just as well with PCs and with Mac computers. All told, it takes about two minutes to get the Airhead set up.

Inside there are 40mm speakers that can reproduce sound between 20- and 50,000-hertz with less than 0.1 percent total harmonic distortion. Using the wireless link, I was able to use the Airhead for Skype calls, recording personalized learning material and for language lab work. It works particularly well for a teacher roaming around the room while staying connected to a classroom public address system.

For listening, the audio of the Airhead is surprisingly strong, with solid midrange and bright high-end tones. On the downside, there’s a slight background hum that you can hear during silent periods and the audio sometimes breaks up when you’re near the limit of its range; roughly 30-feet.

The headset has its own rechargeable battery, but doesn’t come with an AC adapter. There is a cable for charging it with a computer’s USB slot, but the charging port on the headphones is too close and similar to the jack that’s used for a wired connection that it’s too easy to make a mistake and plug it into the wrong port. No harm done, but it’s unlikely to charge.

Also, I found that some notebooks don’t put out enough power to charge the headset. It ran for a little more than 6 hours of nonstop use, making it perfect for use during a school day in the classroom.

B+

 Teknmotion Airhead 1000

Price: $100

+ Comfortable and adjustable

+ 30-foot range

+ Surprisingly good audio

+ PC and Mac use

 

- No AC adapter 

- Slight background hum

 

 

 

 

Let the Sun Shine In

With eBook readers proliferating in schools like blossoms in the spring, these devices not only require light for their screens to work but need to be charged so they have full batteries when the class is ready to read. SolarFocus’s SolarKindle case does both while protecting the device from damage.

The name says it all. SolarKindle has an unobtrusive solar cell on its black leatherette cover that can power the least expensive Kindle eBook reader. It has a gray-and-black solid plastic case that isn’t padded, but can protect the Kindle from accidental damage.

 It weighs 8.9-ounces on its own. Together the case and the 6-inch Kindle device weigh in at 14.7-ounces, which should be fine for everyone from the smallest first-grader to the largest high-school senior. The company also sells cases that work with the Kindle Touch model, but not for the color Fire model.

One reason for its bulk is that the case has its own 1,500milli-amp hour battery along with a crude battery gauge. Green translates to between 80- and 100 percent charge, while yellow and red mean it’s getting to be time to charge it.

 Open the lid and you’ll see that all the ports and controls are available and accessible. The case has the bonus of the SolarKindle’s fold-out reading light that pops up after pressing a mechanical button. It is essential equipment for using the Kindle’s e-ink screen, which lacks built-in lighting, in the dark.

Rated at capable of putting 800-lux of light on the screen, the actual light level is closer to 250 lux, but is plenty for anything from a darkened room to one that is pitch black. It can mean the difference between reading and squinting at the display in the dark.

The light it delivers is on the blue side, but can be quite effective at illuminating the reflective screen. There’s no way to adjust the light’s brightness level, though.

Although the solar cell can augment the Kindle’s battery, it isn’t quite self-sufficient. It can use a variety of sources to charge its battery. Better yet, the case’s battery can be charged while it’s being used. It works best if it isn’t stacked, which covers the solar cell, and used for several hours a day and left to charge for the rest. 

Over the course of several months, I used a Kindle to read several books, while leaving the case in a well-lit room for 8 to 10 hours a day when not in use. On the downside, when it’s time to remove the Kindle from the case for repairs or cleaning, you’ll find that the two don’t want to part. To prevent scratching the case, it takes a plastic stick to pry them apart.

Its price is the SolarKindle’s biggest obstacle to being used in the classroom. At $80, it just about doubles the price of the Kindle eBook reader. There are versions without the solar panel that cost $50, but you need to charge them more often.

A-

SolarFocus SolarKindle

Price: $80

+ Fold out light

+ Unobtrusive solar panel

+ Built-in battery

+ Sturdy

 

- Doubles the cost of Kindle 

- Hard to remove Kindle from case

 

Roll a Screen

What’s better than an interactive white board to teach worth? How about if it could be rolled around the room or from classroom to classroom, which is exactly what Copernicus’s Royal iRover iS600. It can securely hold a Smart Board 640 or 660 and either a Hitachi or Epson projector for an interactive lesson on the go. The cart has stable 3-inch casters as well as bins that can hold a lesson plan’s worth of gear. The iRover cart sells for $892, comes with a five-year warranty and is just one of several teaching easels that the company makes.