Laptop for 8th grader?

[journey00]

I posted in the k thru 8th grade forum but received no replies, maybe since it is mostly made up of those with younger kids.

 

I am considering getting my 8th grader her own laptop for school. We have 2 computers which everyone uses. I could load up her curriculum such as Visual Latin, Teaching Textbooks, and Word. She is enrolled in a heavy writing long distance school and will be writing many papers and saving drafts and emailing her teachers and logging on to a virtual class twice a week. I would put some type of internet safety software such as K9 which is what I have on my 2 computers. She is pretty responsible for a 13 yr old but Facebook or surfing the web when she should be doing school work will still be a temptation. I am interested in knowing what others have done and if you were glad you got your teenager her own laptop for school work. Any suggestions on type of laptops?

 

Thanks.

[Mom22ns]

My kids each have a laptop. We switched from a shared desktop to individual laptops 2 or 3 years ago. Sharing just became too cumbersome as they needed frequent computer access. Dd uses DIVE science which require a computer to play the lab video during lab and video lessons a couple times a week. We use Miller Levine Biology in which we each read the book on our laptop. We've used several pdf curriculums such as WWS and Excellence in Lit and we use them on the computer, we do not print them. Ds has used OYAN and is now using Other Worlds - video based learning. He also used Irasshai for Japanese which used online videos for each lesson.

 

Ok you get the idea. Sharing just quit working as they used more and more video and internet based lessons. We love each having our own laptop. Ds and I had been laptop users for years and the kids were glad to join in. I'm sure the temptation to use FB is there, but their friends are in school when they are. There isn't too much that is going on during the school day. They have to learn to be responsible at some point. I think it is better learned at home while you can police them a bit than when they get to college.

 

We are Mac people so everyone has a MacBook Pro. Specifications vary. What laptop is a personal choice and really doesn't matter in the big picture.

 

ETA: Ds has dysgraphia. He has done all his writing on a keyboard since second grade in ps. Dh is VP of App Dev, a software guy and I am a former Network Analyst. Those are probably all contributing factors for our strong adoption of technology.

[Erin]

We have a laptop in the house, as well as the desktop, but it belongs to me. (Their dad has a tab)

The kids are allowed to use either the laptop or the desktop, but they aren't getting their own computers anytime soon.  In our house/budget, that is still a huge gift to bestow upon a kid...

 

Schoolwork is kept in DropBox or iCloud so it can be accessed from either.

[Julie of KY]

We share computers and they are owned by mom and dad. I have been known to buy a new laptop and say that all of one child's computer work will be loaded and done on that computer. They have priority for schoolwork on that computer, but the rest of the time it can be used by anyone.

[Heathermomster]

We purchased a Samsung Netbook for DS when he was in 6th grade. Mind you, my son has dysgraphia so types a majority of his work. Facebook is not permitted. TV viewing in his room is not permitted. He texts with friends using his IPod. Honestly, he barely touches the Netbook. As administrator, I've restricted access to our desktop computers, so he's not permitted on the computer most non school times. He cannot download without my permission due to pword protections either.

[levelopourdeux]

My dd has had a laptop since she was in 6th grade. She prefers to hand write most things so she mainly uses it for research and a few free online courses. I also agree with momto2Ns about how most of their friends on Facebook will be at school anyway, and they need to learn to be responsible and diligent.

[AK_Mom4]

What to buy: unless you are a Mac house I would pick up one of those $499 laptops you see advertised everywhere right now. They are a pretty good value for the type of school work you are talking about. I think I even saw one advertised last weekend for $399 (loss leader).

 

We don't have the Facebook or surfing during school time problem because laptops have to stay in the school area during e day - in our case the dining room. Hard to sneak out on the web with mom sitting next to you. Install K9 or whatever you use - doesn't K9 allow you to password the Internet connection? You can always set it up that way if the sneaking becomes a problem.

[Julie in MN]

We only had computers in the family room (2 when we had a lot of folks using them), until our kids were old enough to purchase their own.  We only bought a laptop for us as parents when that became helpful.

 

My youngest has used my laptop at a job once and on trips occasionally, but in general my kids have not *needed* a laptop during high school or dual credits.  They all did use a desktop computer a lot rather than hand-writing almost anything.  Somehow, a desktop seems more typing-friendly, but maybe that's just what I'm used to.

 

Just a glimpse into another family,

Julie

[Sebastian (a lady)]

We found that a dedicated computer was a distraction. We have gone to more limited access over the last year and a half.

 

We have a desktop and laptops for adults. It is rare that all three of us NEED to be online at the same time. Having a finite time online has helped us focus on the task at hand because we know someone else is waiting.

 

There are so many ways to waste time online. And most people vastly overestimate their ability to multitask.

 

We are trying to keep computers a tool to wield rather than an umbilical cord.

[KarenNC]

We got an HP Pavilion for my daughter, one of the sale ones (around $300-350 perhaps?) in the spring. She's doing several outside classes with a lot of writing and has several things that are on dvd/cd. We had considered a tablet, but I don't think those are conducive to writing and I wanted something that would run the full Office range of programs, as this is expected to take her through high school. Make sure the computer you get has a cd/dvd drive, as many do not now. I personally have a preference for a 15.6" screen. It's big enough to have two windows open at once to compare things, the keyboard is large enough not to feel cramped, but it isn't as heavy to lug around when needed as the 17" behemoth we used to have. The new ones come with Windows 8, which may take a little getting used to, but I am told they are planning a release of a patch that will enable the old style Windows 7 interface for 8. Not sure when that will happen. Hers is far from a "gaming" computer in terms of specs, but it doesn't need to be--I think she has 4G RAM, Core i3 processor, at least a 500 GB hard drive.

 

Other things to factor into the price:  I picked up a laptop backpack at the thrift store so that she can carry it to class when needed, I felt a cooling pad was a must, and we have headphones so that she can listen to music, etc. Actually we have two sets---one is just headphones (the old style ones rather than earbuds because she prefers those) and a headset with a microphone for things like online classes, language dvd programs, etc.

 

We've had a learning curve with it and responsible usage, which I'm sure is not over, but it was the same with other things---use it correctly or lose access for fun stuff.

[Melissa B]

We just bought my dds 15 and 13 new laptops last week.  (They are actually birthday/Christmas gifts this year, but we gave them early for school.) We bought one a Dell Inspiron and the other a Lenovo Ideapad. Both were on very good sales last week. Dd 15 is allowed to do her school work in her room. I know she can be trusted to stay focused on her schoolwork during school hours. Dd 13 must bring her laptop into the living or dining room during school time as she is still tempted to surf rather than work. They have both done online classes for several years and both have (now rather outdated) netbooks that they have used with no issues for the past couple of years. I've really enjoyed everyone having their own computers to work from. We haven't had any issues thus far.

[TeaCookiesBears]

I guess it depends the child Dd14 and dd7 have a desktop and a laptop that they share. The desktop which is in their room uses an adapter for internet access that I take out as my oldest can not be trusted to not surf the net during school hours. The laptop is to be used in front of an adult when getting on the internet to do school work. After school hours my youngest can get the adapter and play her games as she is only one of the two who actaully can be trusted at this time.

[StephanieZ]

Lenovo outlet has very nice little laptops for under $250 lately, FWIW. 

 

Just be sure you are the admin, and be sure to restrict access. 

 

My older dd has had her own laptop since she was 13, and she is very responsible with it. We've had minor distraction issues periodically, but very manageable and responsive to minimal supervision. My son, now 14, on the other hand, is a nightmare to control on the computer. Some kids are definitely more susceptible to online (or even offline games) distractions than others. I am constantly having to figure out new ways to keep him on track and on task (as he finds ways to evade my current systems). One good thing about laptops is that if the child is irresponsible in his room with it, you can easily restrict it to just the public parts of the house for a period of time. Putting good nanny-ware of some sort on it is imperative if you have a boy like mine. (Good kid, but very drawn to the screen!) 

[Delirium]

I recently purchased an XPS for school use. I've ripped her Latin dvds as well as TT cds to mount since it doesn't have a disc tray. I love having a touch screen and a keyboard. I preemptively blocked Facebook as my child is younger and we've had a previous issue.