There have been a great many studies demonstrating the benefits of one laptop per child programs. In general this research indicates improved achievement across the curriculum. I won’t elaborate here but the data is very positive. Quite a few school districts in the United States have such programs (many of them making use of Macs) and most private schools in Australia have such a program. Indeed some public schools have also employed such programs.

Orange Grove Primary School in Western Australia is a government school that has worked closely with Apple and the community to create a one-laptop program for its students. The parents of the school lease computers at a fixed rate and the staff integrate the laptops into their teaching and learning programs. It is very promising but to get it up and running in more schools would face may challenges.

To work effectively the parents of every student would need to agree. Only one student per class would render the operation ineffective. How do you cater for that one student? The school could purchase a laptop for that child, but then the other parents would be up in arms about the lack of equality. Once all parents do sign up those parents need to see that their money is being well spent. Those laptops had better be used for everything and the results of using them need to be apparent very quickly. Not only that but they need to be better than they could be without the laptops.

It is a big risk for any school to undertake such a program and I have to confess that even though I am mad about technology and see so many possibilities for what it can achieve in education I would have to advise most schools to think extremely carefully before proceeding. It may be good for PR in the short term but it could wind up with a lot of upset parents.

So, where does the ultra-portable Apple sub-notebook come in? Small laptops have the major advantage of being cheap. A Macbook costs about $1500. A EEE PC about $500. With network storage and applications in the cloud the limited capacity of the hard drive or SSD in a sub-notebook becomes irrelevant. Similarly since software updates can be pushed over a wireless network lack of optical drives is not a problem. Aside from the low cost the other big advantage of deploying small computers to students in the tiny size. Students can easily carry them around without strain.

I could quite imagine an Asus EEE PC or similar running Linux quite easily fitting the bill. However, it is what Apple can bring to the table that would make an Apple ultra-portable special. OS X and the iLife applications have massive potential in any educational setting. The quality of the hardware and the seamless integration of the applications combined with the ease of management through OS X server as well as the huge library of third-party software make an ultra-portable Mac laptop compelling.

But what if Apple released a tablet Mac? Ultra-portable in size, perhaps a screen the size of a piece of A5, touch controlled like the iPod touch such a device would have almost limitless application. Imagine exploring the local area with Google Maps and students being able to use touch and gestures to explore it. Using virtual mathematics manipulatives on the screen with their hands. Completing science experiments but manipulating virtual materials on the screen in front of them.

I know a lot of schools that would sign up for such devices.