Joomla! site syndication http://www.studentmachines.co.uk Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:14:46 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.studentmachines.co.uk/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.studentmachines.co.uk Joomla! site syndication http://www.studentmachines.co.uk/content/view/6/2/ Students 'own hi-tech gadgets'Students tend to be up-to-date with the latest technologyStudents increasingly own an expensive range of personal items such as MP3 players, iPods, laptops and widescreen televisions, a survey suggests.A study for Direct Line home insurance shows the average value of students' goods rose 50% over the past 10 years.In 1996, students had possessions worth £1,900, compared with £2,900 now, the poll of 587 students indicated.The findings come as students starting courses this autumn will have to pay up to £3,000 a year on tuition fees alone.Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed by YouGov owned laptop computers, more than half had MP3 players, 48% owned DVD players, 12% had widescreen TVs and 6% owned PDAs.Luxury good ownership extended to the wardrobe, with students spending 40% more a year on clothing and accessories than on books and essential household appliances, such as kettles and irons.'Treats'The survey found 62% treat themselves to non-essential items at least once a month, with female students being more likely to splash out (68%) than their male counterparts (57%).The researchers said students did not view their spending on expensive technology as extravagant but treated study as a job for which certain pieces of equipment were essential.Direct Line Home Insurance spokesman Simon Ziviani said: The wealth of today's students really is proof that times are changing and that the majority now enjoy a degree of affluence. A survey published last week suggested most parents and students significantly underestimated the level of debt youngsters would accrue while at university.The Association of Investment Trust Companies found sixth formers expected to owe about £6,000 when they graduated - less than half the average in reality. News - Latest Wed, 07 Jul 2004 11:54:06 +0100 http://www.studentmachines.co.uk/content/view/11/9/ Learning With Technology: The Impact of Laptop Use on Student AchievementRapid technological advances in the last decade have sparked educational practitioners’ interest in utilizing laptops as an instructional tool to improve student learning. There is substantial evidence that using technology as an instructional tool enhances student learning and educational outcomes. Past research suggests that compared to their non-laptop counterparts, students in classrooms that provide all students with their own laptops spend more time involved in collaborative work, participate in more project-based instruction, produce writing of higher quality and greater length, gain increased access to information, improve research analysis skills, and spend more time doing homework on computers. Research has also shown that these students direct their own learning, report a greater reliance on active learning strategies, readily engage in problem solving and critical thinking, and consistently show deeper and more flexible uses of technology than students without individual laptops. The study presented here examined the impact of participation in a laptop program on student achievement. A total of 259 middle school students were followed via cohorts. The data collection measures included students’ overall cumulative grade point averages (GPAs), end-of-course grades, writing test scores, and state-mandated norm- and criterion-referenced standardized test scores. The baseline data for all measures showed that there was no statistically significant difference in English language arts, mathematics, writing, and overall grade point average achievement between laptop and non-laptop students prior to enrollment in the program. However, laptop students showed significantly higher achievement in nearly all measures after one year in the program. Cross-sectional analyses in Year 2 and Year 3 concurred with the results from the Year 1. Longitudinal analysis also proved to be an independent verification of the substantial impact of laptop use on student learning outcomes. FAQs - Examples Wed, 12 May 2004 11:54:06 +0100 http://www.studentmachines.co.uk/content/view/2/9/ Laptop astounds studentA LAPTOP computer set to revolutionise education world-wide is the prized possession of an Adelaide electrical engineering student.University of Adelaide student Joel Stanley, 21, is one of only two Australians to own an early-model laptop from the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program.The brainchild of US MIT Media Lab co-founder Nicholas Negroponte, the program aims to provide laptops to children in developing countries such as Brazil, China, Egypt, Thailand and South Africa at a cost of less than $127.A computer enthusiast, Mr Stanley won a rare model of the laptop, which is still being developed, at a software conference in Sydney last month.A second laptop went to another young man in Perth.Labelled the children's machine , the computers are the size of a textbook and weigh about as much as a lunch box.They have an AC adaptor and a hand-crank generator for when there is no electricity available.The durable, flexible laptops have USB ports, screens that can be read in full sunlight, wireless internet connections and are mobile phone-enabled, although they have limited storage.Mr Stanley said his model cost about $127 to make.He was impressed that the cheap computers used technology not yet available in high-end commercial laptops. The technology is really, really cool and you wonder why you can't get it in an expensive laptop when they can make this one for $100, he said. Because I'm used to something different, it (the technology) seems a bit weird but these kids will never have even heard of Windows so they might take to it a bit easier. Mr Stanley, who hoped to develop games for the laptop in his spare time, said the computers were a good way for children to teach themselves. Instead of going to school to use the computers and going home, the kids will own the laptops, he said. It will give them something to do in the evenings as this is the first time many of them will have seen artificial light. Newsflashes - Newsflash Mon, 09 Aug 2004 08:30:34 +0100