Some blog comments inspire a response which is sufficiently long it deserves its own post, and Donna Muller's comment to my post on ISTEconnects, "Sub-$100 Netbooks are Coming," is a case in point. Donna wrote and asked:

We are currently looking at netbooks for each student in 4th-8th grade. We are having a lot of nervous individuals worried about the misuse of the computers, ability to integrate into the classroom, battery life (charging station issues), security, monitoring, and loss of traditional educational methods. As the tech coordinator, I continue to stress that netbooks will ehnance and supplement the our current methodology., not replace it. In fact, we’ll be able to better adapt to individual learning styles more readily. Do you know of any schools that have successfully integrated netbooks into their classrooms? Do you think 4th graders are too young? I personally cannot wait! I believe each teacher (we’re departmentalized) will have different levels of use and will increase the amount of technology as the student and teacher are ready. I believe “fear” or “we’ve not done it before” keeps many from moving beyond their own possibilities. I’d appreciate any feedback you may have!

Here's my response!

Donna:

Most of the educator blog posts I've read to date about netbooks have related to purchasing comparisons, rather than technology integration experiences, but I do have a few of both to share in response to your question. Personally, I definitely think you are on the right track looking seriously at netbooks as a 1:1 computing solution. I do NOT think 4th graders are too young to handle netbooks, but that is based off my own experiences watching my own son as a 4th grader thrive with access to his own laptop, rather than my own teaching experiences with 4th graders.

On February 12, 2009, Tony Vincent posted a new episode to his "soft reset" podcast titled "Netbooks in Fort Smith." He reports that Fort Smith Public Schools (in Arkansas) have "nearly 20 classrooms using Eee PC netbooks." Elementary, middle and high school teachers all share about their experiences using the netbooks in the podcast. Definitely check it out.

Clarence Fisher, a fantastic Canadian educator, has been using 10 Asus eeePcs for the past year in his middle school classroom. His post from a year ago, "OS and Education," reflects his experiences that Linux-based netbooks are well suited for collaboration. His February 2008 post "Google Docs and Essays" reflects how his students are increasingly using Google Docs for their homework assignments. Clarence would be a great teacher to contact with specific questions regarding Eee PCs since he's been using them with students for over a year.

At the end of November 2008 Doug Belshaw posted "10 Interesting Ways to Use Netbooks in the Classroom" via Google Docs/a Google Presentation. Back in May 2008 he wrote, "I’ve sold my Asus Eee 4G. What now?" which includes some comparative info on available netbooks, but that info is over six months old now. His first post is more responsive to your question with respect to classroom uses. His students are using six Asus Eee 1000 Netbooks at his school.

Tami Brass's February 2009 post, "Classmate Tablet - Full of Surprises" includes results from some netbook field testing she completed with other educators at her school using the Classmate Tablet. In her January post, "Netbooks in Schools - Survey results and reflections," she recommends the Google Group "Illinois CTO Low Cost Laptops for Learning Commission" as a good resource related to netbook initiatives. There does not appear to be a great deal there about classroom implementation experiences, however.

Miguel Guhlin's February 25, 2009, post, "Netbooks Go Viral" includes references to Rusty Meyner's (Eustace ISD, Texas) comparative chart and criteria list for netbooks, as well as Clive Thompson's February 23, 2009, article for Wired Magazine, "The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time." Like many of the other links listed here, however, these articles provide more purchasing comparison ideas than they do specific experiences of teachers using netbooks.

Elizabeth Davis' February 13, 2009, post on Classroom 2.0 "Are you using Netbooks? Have you explored the possiblities? Please share your experience" includes some different perspectives and links on Netbooks as well, and will likely draw more in the weeks ahead.

In terms of identifying web applications which are netbook-appropriate, I highly commend Tony Vincent's July 2008 post "Web Apps & Netbooks" and his learninginhand.org Netbooks page.

I hope those resources are helpful. As I wrote in the original post to which you commented, "Sub-$100 Netbooks are Coming," I feel confident we'll be hearing a LOT about netbooks in school at NECC 2009 as well as other educational technology conferences in the months ahead!

For others besides Donna reading this post, do YOU have or know of other edublogger posts including experiences about using Netbooks in the classroom with students?