Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion The laptop/tablet decision for DD10

I don't think you have any reason to apologize. Your DD has raised a legitimate point about technology. We all feel FAR more comfortable using the tools we've learned. It's not fun to have to re-learn skills we've already mastered.

That's a major reason why MS Office became such a mainstay. Large corporations, for example, have thousands of users who all know how to work it. Any calculations on replacing it with a cheaper (or free) substitute in business has to also account for the cost of retraining workers, decreased productivity, and increased error frequency.

I was using this just the other day for my son when he needed to use the internet but I wanted him off the sites that he waists time on. My router allows me to lock net access per device, and by time, and to set up specific web sites to allow or disallow. It is not as slick as some programs. But it's on the router where he doesn't have the administrator password.

In thinking about this more, I wonder if what we really want, just for now, is an old Windows or Mac laptop, perhaps without wireless. As long as it worked (and really, word processing is not demanding) and was not horribly clunky...Would only be worth it if we could pick one up cheap or free-ish.

I am going to really go against the tide here and suggest allowing your children freedom and adding controls as needed so that they can better develop self-control and sound judgment by the time they reach their teenage years. Children will vary substantially in the amount of external controls. Of course, I am not advocating letting your 5-year-old use the computer at will. My children rarely touch the computer except at school during the early elementary years (prior to their 8th birthday). I much rather they developed reading/thinking and non-academic skills at the younger ages. However, my two younger children each received their own laptops prior to beginning 3rd grade (age 8). We discussed reasonable limits and safety concerns and reached guidelines. Interestingly, I did not need to worry about DD overusing the laptop (or her ipod touch) although this school year (5th), she regularly connects with her classmates online so it is a huge social tool. DS is more prone to "wasting" time on electronics (games & online sources) so we did have to come up with some loose time limits at some earlier ages. DS also accidentally landed on an inappropriate site once as well as fraudulent sites a few times, but they were excellent learning/discussion opportunities and now I feel like they have some protection because they know what to avoid and why. However, I am really proud to see that they are now great about self-monitoring. They are responsible for completing their homework, music practice and other responsibilities and know to avoid fraudulent and inappropriate sites.

My children have ipad/ipod touch and an android tablet but still uses the laptop for most of their academic needs partly due to habit. However, ipad/ipod touch as well as android tablets have word processing software (including Word on androids) designed for tablets. The difference is you may need that online connection and typing may be slower unless you connect a physical keyboard.

DD's friends are not yet online and also don't really have phones, and I'm happy with that reality. I read a lot about this subject for work, and I don't feel DD is ready for this social universe yet. She's an emotionally immature 10, and I'd like her to spend more time navigating friendship in the face to face world before she goes off into a place with fewer cues.

I do think she's ready to spend more time with apps, programming, movie-making, digital drawing, etc--I've relaxed on that stuff. However, it's a balancing act, because I want DS6 to stay with books, markers, real-life building toys, and the "real world" a while longer.

Getting a good job is a long-term goal, but before that comes college. Looking at the computer science and engineering sites of a few schools, it appears that students are expected to quickly get comfortable with Unix programs and commands such as gcc, make, grep etc. A student who started a computer science program having only used Windows (and never using the command line under cygwin) would be at a disadvantage.

Yes. Those are all in Linux, too.

In the business world (or at least, among those who want to remain in business), there is no Cygwin, because the Xwindows server software it connects to is a security hole. It's all command-line or simple ncurses presentations.

Our school is BYOD. Both of my kids use a MacBook Air. I typically purchase refurbished models in August before school starts. I put cheap thin clam shell covers on them for protection. They use the MacBooks through the school year. I sell them in the summer on eBay with the remainder of the 1 year warranty. I get a good price on eBay because the purchaser has the remainder of the warranty and has the option of purchasing AppleCare to increase the warranty coverage. The kids always have current models and with full Apple warranty coverage. Right now you can purchase a June 2013 11.6 inch model for $719. The 2014 models should be available in the refurb store later in the summer.