This Year Back to School is All About Business
Gadgets and software harbinger a new, more serious back to school season
Published: August, 2005
When the seventy-one million American students flock back to school this season, they’ll be toting more technology than ever before. One of the biggest trends this year is that more than ever school is being run like a business, and the tools reflect that business. The majority of back to school items either helps assess what the student knows, gives them tools to make them more efficient, or gives them grown up tools in student-sized packages.
What we’ll see this year is that:
1. Tech is for Tots Technology has migrated down to the youngest grades so that even kindergartners are very comfortable using PCs and gadgets.
2. Kids get lots of homework . In the primary grades they begin with about 30 minutes an evening. In middle school that becomes anywhere from 1 -2 hours and in high school students that mushrooms to at least 3 hours of work an evening.
3. Parents are scared of homework. A recent study found that parents (74%) feel ill equipped to help with their children’s homework assignments. (The older the kids the great the discomfort.)
4. Schools are pushing an accountability agenda. Whether you think it’s wrong, right, or indifferent, there’s no denying that the trend is for schools to teach and test, and then teach and test some more. Technology has been helpful in pinpointing a child’s weaknesses and mastery of the material.
Unlike years gone by when school supplies meant picking out which color notebook would best match your pen, or even which software to use for fun after school, this year’s selection is great, but has a serious ring to it. The net effect is that today’s back to school gadgets and software are all about the business of being a student.
Some of this year’s highlights:
T is for Tech
The youngest students love imitating mom and dad and that means having a laptop of their very own. The Nitro Notebook from Vtech is a $50 portable learning system for kids ages 5 and older. It help kids practice the subjects they’re learning in school, such as math, language, reading and social studies through 80 game-style activities and it monitors your child’s performance to spot any problems they may have understanding the material. For $50 you won’t get a beautiful color laptop screen but you’ll get a fun way for your students to get handle on the basics.
VTech’s Nitro Notebook ($50) is just one of this year’s products that appeals to the 5 -7 year old who wants to play grown up.
Another grown-up tool that’s finding its way into students’ hands is the cell phone. Family cell phone plan signups for middle school and high school kids rose 38% last year. Parents want their younger kids to have their own phones for security and convenience but they are also nervous about the responsibility that comes with a phone.
One bright new star in this market is the Firefly cell phone . D esigned for 8-12 year olds, the phone offers all sorts of features like ring tones and skins that appeal to kids, but keep parents in control. Instead of having a regular dial pad it has only 5 keys, with a PIN-activated menu that parents control. This limits who kids can call or receive calls from. There are even “Mom” and “Dad” speed dial buttons on the phone. And because it’s available as a prepaid plan, it gets young cell phone users to mind their minutes. The phone costs $99 and the service is provided by Cingular.
The Firefly Mobile, a phone with no keypad has bells and whistles for kids but appeals to parents’ safety concerns.
A trend I’d like to see more of is real world learning, especially when businesses lend their expertise. Tetra, a maker of aquariums took note of the fact that kids all over the country have pet fish — in their classrooms or homes. They developed Aquademics a free online curriculum to support an aquarium. There are 40+ lesson plans that align to national standards and let kids learn using imaginative examples based on their pet fish. There’s even a chance to win money for college and lots of help in keeping that aquarium going.
Older and Wiser
Software is also helping parents with kids in middle and upper school where they need it the most —with their homework . Microsoft Student 2006 is a brand new product that includes the tools and information kids need to be more efficient and productive about their schoolwork. It’s organized by subject and contains everything from science and math tools to foreign language and report writing help. The Learning Essentials section works with Microsoft Office applications — like Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint — to provide templates, toolbars and tutorials. For Math — a subject that causes students and parents the most trouble - Microsoft Student includes graphing calculator software. It also displays graphs in 3D to help students visualize and understand complex concepts.
The must have product for Back to School has always been a computer. As a matter of fact, 60 percent of parents chose a computer as the top tool they need at home to help their child succeed in school. They even rate it higher than a desk according to a study by Office Depot. To make things easy for parents, they’ve created a top of the line bundle at an affordable price. The new HP Pavilion PC has a DVD player, 15 inch LCD screen, large hard drive, and is fully loaded for less than $600 after rebates.