Handhelds & Internet Access on Buses!

If your students spend an inordinate amount of time riding a bus to and from school, here's an interesting idea being piloted by a school district in Grapevine, Arkansas.

Thanks to a pilot program called the "Aspirnaut Initiative", the bus has been outfitted with an Internet router and the children have been given either video iPods or laptops. The machines have been loaded with educational videos to help reinforce concepts students are learning in their classrooms.

I would suggest that the new iPod Video Nano's (retailing for $149-4gb and $199-8gb) or a Palm Z22 ($99) or TX ($299) are all excellent tools that cost far less than a laptop and would be easier for students to carry with them.

For the full article, check out Back to School 2.0 In it, you'll also read about other technologies and techniques the district is using to help their students become 21st Century Learners.

With some students spending as much as 15 hours a week on bus commutes, this concept could really help turn that boring bus ride into a great learning opportunity (and maybe even cut down on the many discipline problems bus drivers experience!)