Ask Slashdot: Cheapest Functional Computer For Students?

An anonymous reader writes: I've started a second career, teaching English at a High School in a middle class area. While the large majority of students have a computer and internet access at home, about 10-15% do not. I assign papers that must be typed, I have papers turned in online, and I plan to freely refer to texts, videos, and other resources that are available online. This gives an extra disadvantage to students that may be from the poorer end of the strata, and also means extra inefficiency for me, as I have to make allowances for students who don't have a computer available at home.

Right now, I have to tell them to either use school computers during the day, or to pick up a $170 laptop (more than enough — I administer the class using such a laptop). However, I was surprised at the lack of a super-cheap option for students. I'd love to see something for $20 that any student could afford easily, or perhaps I could just gift to a few students. I feel like something in this price range could be sufficiently powerful for basic word processing, youtube videos, and internet searches (internet access is a separate issue). But looking over my options I see:

1) The very cheapest Chromebooks are also in the $170 range.
2) Android Sticks have been around for a while, and do cost in the $20 range, but don't seem to have matured into a generally usable technology. Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be a community effort to easily turn these Android sticks into Ubuntu/Mint sticks.
3) Students can't be assumed to have the technical know-how to fix up a Salvation Army computer (I wouldn't mind helping out a bit, but I don't want to turn into tech support)
4) A Raspberry Pi costs $70 once you include a case/power supply/etc, and students would receive a big bag of parts.
5) Cheap Windows Tablets have glitches, and don't have an HDMI out.
6) There isn't a good solution to using a cell phone as a desktop computer.

Are any of my assumptions wrong? Are there any other options I'm not considering?

Comments

Brilliant use of Ask Slashdot - congratulations.

[Bruce66423]

I've no suggestions unfortunately - but I think it's good to commend imaginative uses of this forum

You've got the important points.

[Art Popp]

The critical question for such a determination is:
--Do you have anything else you can get get cheaply?
This very much alters the outcome. Por ejemplo: Given the inexpensiveness of wide screen monitors, the old 17" are thick on the ground at a couple of my work places, used only by interns. If your middle class folk can get you a heap of them for near-free, then yes, the Raspberry Pi2 will work well and keyboards and older mice are found in the same filing cabinet drawers. The Pi2 addresses shortage of CPU that was painful in the previous versions. It's very usable.
--Do you have shop class at a local school that can make you some cases?
http://lifehacker.com/make-an-...
--Are you looking for an amazing set of projects your kids can do?
https://www.raspberrypi.org/ma...

If you can't get the monitors cheap/free, then the Pi and even $80 worth of monitor have brought you into the Chromebook range.

At that juncture you have to choose your poison. If you want consistent and easy to maintain, you'll need to purchase large batches of new chromebooks. If you have a little technical know how, you can pick them up in the $120's all day on ebay and as refurbs on woot.

Re:You've got the important points.

[Blaskowicz]

Free monitors tend to be VGA only : CRT, 1280x1024 LCD and the cheap wide monitors (in fact some narrow ones do have DVI, but the cheap wides never do)

That makes the Pis incompatible with them. Although a HDMI TV may be increasingly common.

Re:You've got the important points.

[geoskd]

Free monitors tend to be VGA only : CRT, 1280x1024 LCD and the cheap wide monitors (in fact some narrow ones do have DVI, but the cheap wides never do) That makes the Pis incompatible with them. Although a HDMI TV may be increasingly common.

Although many poor households do not have a computer, 96.1% of households below the poverty line have TV's, with one third of those being large screen high def TVs. These will work just fine for the Pi. Even the 1 in 20 that are left needing a monitor, some of those could be convinced to get a second hand used TV to be used as a computer monitor. All else failing, there are plenty of computer recycling places out there that could be convinced to donate a few older HDMI TVs / monitors.

The Pi has the additional advantage that the school can legally provide a ubuntu image for the students to use, and could easily re-image a messed up SD-card, allowing the students to tinker as much as they like without fear of bricking their computer, and not having any technical support to get it working again.

All things considered, the lack of easy access to broadband is a far bigger problem

Chromebooks.

[chris200x9]

Not sure you can get cheaper than the mentioned chromebooks, even if there were a good 20 dollar option you'd still need a keyboard, mouse and monitor at minimum.

No good without internet

[Anonymous Coward]

Students who don't own/can't afford computers almost certainly don't have/can't internet access either so there's not much point in finding an ultra-cheap one when the service cost would be a much bigger issue (with a $20 computer, internet access in most places costs more than that EVERY MONTH).

Re:No good without internet

[Blaskowicz]

So you're back to the $200 laptop (with functioning battery)

Or have fun carting a desktop, monitor, keyboard and perhaps inverter and car/truck battery to the library.

Re:No good without internet

[Anonymous Coward]

Public Libraries have computers and often require a bus pass. Coffee shops throw out children who look like their parents can't afford high speed internet. If the students have smart phones, then a Bluetooth keyboard is a good answer. If they don't have cell phones, TEACH TO YOUR STUDENTS instead of to the middle class students you don't have.

$10/month for broadband assistance is larger than the (negative) discretionary budget of many families. Asking your students to choose between dinner and homework because you want writing assignments typed is FUCKING STUPID!

Re:No good without internet

[Will.Woodhull]

Somewhat wrong. Perhaps mostly wrong.

There are a large number of open wifi connections in the USA, and some students would be able to benefit from these.

Also, a student with a $5 thumb drive can do his internet research at the library, or on a school computer or a friend's computer, and sneakernet to and from his home computer. We managed this kind of thing in the 1980s and it is much easier to now, since floppy disks have been replaced by thumb drives.

Re:No good without internet

[DutchUncle]

1. Calling someone effing stupid does not improve your argument; quite the reverse. Your point was very well taken until the last two words.
2. It's not effing stupid, it's unthinking or unaware. I appreciate your point because my parents grew up worrying about the cost of each pencil or postage stamp, and reminded us of it regularly.
3. Wanting writing assignments typed is reasonable if you have to read 120 of them, like when I was trying to get my high school teaching license (during an underemployed period). (Giving individuals an exemption as needed is also reasonable.)

But some old PCs

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a core 2 duo from 2007, its more than enough for what your students have to do, it even runs Windows 10 if it is needed and it costs nothing.

Full disclaimer: I'm teaching applied maths and CS and I design some of my courses on that computer so believe me it is more than enough.

What about connection?

[avandesande]

I would assume that if they didn't have a computer home they probably don't have a connection either.

Let them write it on paper

[butchersong]

Sounds like you either need the school at the administrative level to have a policy that students need to have a cheap laptop (not unreasonable) provided by school or parents or you need to let your english students use their pencils and papers. I would think that reasonably legible handwriting would be a good skill to have and if they are going to learn that anywhere it is in english class.

Re:Let them write it on paper

[Moof123]

This.

If your English class requires a computer, you have likely missed the point.

Bear in mind that once Johny has an El Cheapo computer, he likely will be far behind on computer skills. His house will likely not have an internet connection as well. He may fall far behind after wasting more time on computer skill rather than reading and writing. Sending students to a bunch of online videos and texts may be trendy, but it is likely not actually helping your students.

Re:Let them write it on paper

[swillden]

Sending students to a bunch of online videos and texts may be trendy, but it is likely not actually helping your students.

I disagree.

I think there's a lot of potential in "flipping the classroom", where lectures are watched at home and class time is used for interactive discussions and the work normally done at home. Upper level English courses don't really benefit as much because those tend to have very little lecture component to them anyway, but standard high school English courses which cover a lot of material like parts of speech, sentence diagramming, essay and poetry structure, etc., do include plenty of lectures which could be more efficiently watched outside of class.

On the other hand, there are certainly lots of ways you could misuse computers in an English class, making them less effective than pencil and paper. But I don't get the sense that the poster is doing that.

Re:Let them write it on paper

[alexander_686]

I will disagree, and I would argue that computers should not be intruded into this classroom.

I tutor inner-city kids. Common issues are highly mobile families, poverty, English as a second language, and refuge status. They are academically behind their peers. Their parents are unsophisticated or put little emphasis on education. Throwing even modest obstacles can derail them.

I get why computers are important to education. However, this has to be a school wide initiative, not a classroom one.

Re:Option #3

[McLae]

Designate several students as tech support for extra credit. Best way to learn is by doing (For some folks). Show the 'support' kids. Let them get the other kids up and running.

Re:Stream 11

[Albanach]

These guys are $200 a pop.

That's the problem. The OP is looking for something substantially more affordable. It's easy for those with some reasonable income to not realize just how tight things are for the poorest members of society.

That said, I think there's a real limitation as to what can be achieved at such low pricepoints. At about the $170 range you can have a decent screen, processor, storage, and RAM. As you go below that price point things have to be sacrificed. Unfortunately I don't see much in the way of screen-less options that save money. HP make a Stream desktop that runs windows, but it's still around the same pricepoint. Intel make a compute stick, which is better with a $135 price tag on Amazon, but that's probably still too expensive.

Maybe you're stuck with something Raspberry PI like, with a small but fast SSD and a cheap case, keyboard, and mouse. That sounds like it could work, but once you have the computer, case, HDMI cable, SD card and some sort of removable storage so the kids can submit work, you're still going to have a price tag that is well above $50/head.

Overlooking the true cost of computer hardware.

[geekmux]

The true cost of that computer asset does not start and stop with that one-time purchase.

I think you might also be overlooking the fact that these families don't have a computer because they also cannot afford the $40+/month for broadband internet access to take advantage of all the online resources you wish to present to your students.

And trying to keep that cost fixed by using a computer offline 100% of the time is rather pointless in today's environment.

Unusual requirement

[DoofusOfDeath]

"Cheapest Functional Computer For Students?"

An Arduino running Haskel?

Re:Unusual requirement

[Actually, I do RTFA]

Forth isn't a functional language.

Don't require a computer

[pavon]

Are any of my assumptions wrong? Are there any other options I'm not considering?

Yes, you shouldn't design your curriculum assuming students will have limitless access to a computer and internet. Don't have paper turned in online, print out resources to pass out to the student, show the videos in class, and make the amount of typing such that it can be done on school/library computers without excessive burden. There is nothing about learning the English language that requires a computer.

Re:Option #3

[Anonymous Coward]

also check local county government surplus sales. I got some pentium 4HT computers 1g ram that were wiped with 15 inch lcd mouse and keyboard for ~$25

Pick your poison

[powerlord]

1) Find old Salvation army computers and toss linux on them. This option is probably the cheapest but requires the most time sink from someone to set up.

2) Go for something like http://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-... (if you can find cheap/free monitors/keyboards/mice). If you can overcome the expense of the monitors/keyboards/mice (find cheap supply or have them donated), this is probably the best time/cost option. The number of parts are really small, and the kits can probably be pre-assembled on a sunday with volunteer labor if you are afraid putting them together might be too much for the students.

3) Otherwise, as you noted, you're in Chromebook territory. Perhaps a fundraiser/sponsorship or some way of trying to subsidize them for the whole class might bring the cost per unit down into the more affordable range for your under-privaleged students (without single them out)?

Smartphone + keyboard

[Psychofreak]

A smartphone and a blue tooth keyboard is fully capable of what you ask, as long as the videos and websites are capable. The headache will be on your end with supporting several different word processors, as the better ones are not free, and there are several respectable free choices including Google Docs.

So what does this offer? The middle class American child already has a smartphone, or their parents do. Pretty high power devices are also available as the "low end" option, and older devices are capable so a castoff or hand-me-down phone that is in good shape will do the job quite well (yes, batteries need replaced about every 2 years). All smart phones have wifi access without having phone service turned on. This means that they can use wifi at the coffee shop or use data on their parents' devices for the actual submission.

Bluetooth keyboards start at about $25.
A prepaid smartphone is about $50 for the device.
Yes, this operates on the assumption that the student has access to a good smartphone (with or without service), and can get wifi access via local businesses.

Try this before you expect your students to use it, they will expect you to support them technically.

Ensure offline works

[khb]

" I assign papers that must be typed, I have papers turned in online, and I plan to freely refer to texts, videos, and other resources that are available online."

Typed could be done with a typewriter. The onus is on YOU to scan if you need electrons. While it certainly is harder, having to think before typing can provide the student with some benefits as well!

Provide pointers to offline texts that should suffice (books, libraries, etc. still exist).

Videos and other resources can be viewed, when they have access at school, library, or tablet (Amazon is rumored to have a $50 one in the wings).

Since you aren't teaching at an elite private school, make sure that you aren't depriving your students of the chance to learn!

Re:Stream 11

[Anonymous Coward]

Since the OPs school district isn't one that provides students with hardware, and some (increasingly more) do, then he/she has no business making it a requirement to have access to a computer in order to do their work.

$20 is probably impossible

[ZahrGnosis]

The best thing out there, designed specifically to address your concern, is the XO laptop by the laptop.org people for their "One Laptop Per Child" campaign: http://laptop.org/en/

Their price is $35 per unit, and they take significant cuts (and some creative solutions to be sure) to get there. They're not exactly readily available, particularly for US schools, but it may be worth talking to them. It's possible these would be enough for you, if you could get hold of them, but I'd consider them pretty under-powered for an applicable middle-school or higher education where there are other options.

The XO is a good data point for what you sacrifice going below the entry Chromebook or hp-11 style laptop, or even an android tablet with a keyboard. Also, it sets the bar at $35 so your hopeful target of $20 seems unlikely; the XO has been around for years and they probably can't go much lower, and you're not likely to get many people competing for this space, at least not for profit. The DIY kits (i.e. raspberry pi) you've already addressed and those are even more expensive. The idea of hooking to an existing TV (with an Android Stick) may have merit, but there's still the price of a mouse, keyboard, and a capable TV in the first place, so the real price is higher.

Anyway, I think you're going to be hard pressed to find better solutions. It's a noble goal, but the industry just isn't there yet, despite good examples of people trying. Hope this helps.

Re:$20 is probably impossible

[cb88]

35$ is givinig them away when you consider their real cost which is $229 + support costs that are about as much as the laptop. http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/price/490_per_xo_laptop_the_real_cos.html

Re:$20 is probably impossible

[HornWumpus]

Have you seen how kids treat free stuff?

Granting that they don't treat stuff they paid for much better.

Re:Solution: continue to not require a computer

[aaaaaaargh!]

That being said, the cheapest option is probably to go for refurbished old laptops. When they come from an enterprise they are often in a surprisingly good state. I'm doing all my daily work on a Thinkpad Z61.

Re:Option #3

[AntronArgaiv]

Designate several students as tech support for extra credit. Best way to learn is by doing (For some folks). Show the 'support' kids. Let them get the other kids up and running.

Absolutely. The kids probably know more than OP, or will shortly.

Nothing wrong with a Goodwill computer. Heck, down at the town dump, you can probably get two for free and make one working one out of them.
The idea is not to get caught in the middle, with a stockroom full on non-functional donated computers. Get the kids to act as clearinghouse for
old computers.

Run Linux on it.

I hate to be a dissenter here BUT...

[Anonymous Coward]

You are an English teacher.

There is absolutely zero need to have everything typed as a matter of fact you are doing the kids a disservice here because they need to learn how to write legibly.

There is zero need to have the papers turned in online.

If they need to research online then they can and should use the library.

The English/Literature classes are classes where paper should still rule.

It's not about you.

[westlake]

I assign papers that must be typed, I have papers turned in online, and I plan to freely refer to texts, videos, and other resources that are available online. This gives an extra disadvantage to students that may be from the poorer end of the strata, and also means extra inefficiency for me, as I have to make allowances for students who don't have a computer available at home.

In other words, you've build your entire course around the experience and resources of the middle class student and what is convenient for you. You are looking for a quick. cheap, feel-good, solution that ignores --- among other things --- the problem of Internet access for the poor and their lack of experience online.

tricks: Vaccum, wash the keboard, load linux.

[Ungrounded Lightning]

If the computer is working at all, the following tricks might make it like-new:

Open it up and vacuum out the dust. Dust accumulates, especially in the CPU heatsinks, over years, causing them to overheat. For a long time the CPUs have had circuitry that slows the clock to reduce the heat - and thus slows the machine way down, which may be why it was finally abandoned. Suck out the dust and the CPU will be back to its full speed.

Replacing the BIOS backup battery is good, too, as it may be nearing end-of-life - especially as the machine sat on the shelf waiting for a new home. Also: A little time with the battery out may clear out oddball BIOS settings in older BIOS chips that are battery-backed-RAM, rather than flash, based.

If the keyboard is dirty or a little flakey, try washing it with clean (better yet, distilled) water and drying it thoroughly. As long as you don't power it while it's still moist, and don't use hot water or the heated drying cycle in a dishwaher, you won't corrode anything.

Then installing Linux from a live disk, with the use-full-disk options, will clean out any malware and give them a modern, supported, OS with a good and easy to use word processor (Open Office) for free.

Hmmm ...

[gstoddart]

I've started a second career, teaching English at a High School in a middle class area. While the large majority of students have a computer and internet access at home, about 10-15% do not. I assign papers that must be typed, I have papers turned in online, and I plan to freely refer to texts, videos, and other resources that are available online. This gives an extra disadvantage to students that may be from the poorer end of the strata, and also means extra inefficiency for me, as I have to make allowances for students who don't have a computer available at home.

At the end of the day, you can't demand parents buy computers or can provide access.

Unless there was a stipulation that the kids have it, you might be stuck.

So, maybe we can rephrase the question: I'm a complete prat who is going to insist my students have access to computers even if they don't now, what's the best way to do this?

Maybe you need to be having this discussion with your principal and/or school board. You simply decreeing students get computers might not actually mean anything other than you want it to be the case, and no matter how good your intentions are it might not be possible.

People living hand to mouth don't need some teacher telling them they need to buy a damned computer.

This whole question smacks of someone who is a little clueless and out of touch with reality due to not enough real experience.

So what?

[s.petry]

You can get 1.5 Mbps broadband from comcast or centurytel for $10/month.

https://apply.internetessentia... http://www.centurylink.com/hom...

The 10.00 per month is meaningless to a family who is in poverty. "It's only 10.00" sounds really good when you are not in poverty. I came from poverty so know what it's like not to be able to eat because I had a bill to pay.

Perhaps you are volunteering to pay some of those 10.00/month fees for families and I just misunderstand, but you can call me a skeptic.

Re:So what?

[grahamsz]

Not to make light of the situation you were in, but you say that you had a land line poor. I'm going to assume that was some time ago, but in the current day and age you'd be hard pressed to suggest anyone have a land line instead of a dsl/cable connection, especially when it looks like subsidized broadband is actually cheaper than subsidized phone service. Then of course you can tack on something like google voice to get a phone number and take calls for free.

Re:So what?

[grahamsz]

Have you looked at the links I've posted?

Both comcast and centurytel have programs which allow qualified low income families with children to get 1.5Mbps broadband for ~$10/month. It doesn't appear to be an introductory rate and I don't see any obvious requirements that you have cable tv or phone service from them. Comcast will even sell you a low cost computer and come to your house and set it up and show you the basics of using it.

Comcast charge a bunch more for phone service, but once you've got cable internet you can easily sign up for google voice, get a free local phone number and (with the purchase of a cheap headset) you can take phone calls and receive voicemail.

These seem like programs that are absolutely targeted at the use case that the OP is describing. I'm asking you why, if you were eligible for a program like that, that you'd suggest getting a landline instead of cable/dsl?

Re:So what?

[grahamsz]

I never made a claim about a "phone being only $10 a month". Comcast repeatedly try to sell me one and it's far more expensive than that.

What I said was that $10 a month internet service is good enough to run skype or google voice and can be used as a phone number for things like job applications.

As best I can tell in CO, subsidized phone service is about $21 + taxes and subsidized internet service is $10 + taxes. Obviously if you can't afford a box of mac & cheese then you'll have neither one. However if you could afford phone service then you could free up $11/month to put towards buying a $150 computer.

I'm asking you to defend your position that phone service is a necessity but internet service is a luxury and you resort to pointing out that some of the poor can't afford a single meal. However the poverty line for a family with two kids is around $24k/yr, there are a lot of people who are poor but who can absolutely afford the prices i'm talking of.

Turing machine

[Toshito]

The only DIY paper computer! Turing complete*

*with an infinite strip of paper, not included

Exactly this. Rethink your curriculum.

[tlambert]

Exactly this. Rethink your curriculum.

"I assign papers that must be typed, I have papers turned in online, and I plan to freely refer to texts, videos, and other resources that are available online."

Don't do this. Don't force them to type, don't force them to turn in online, don't refer to text, videos, or other online resources, unless you also offer library resources that allow them to reference the materials without buying a computer and paying for internet connectivity.

"This gives an extra disadvantage to students that may be from the poorer end of the strata, and also means extra inefficiency for me, as I have to make allowances for students who don't have a computer available at home."

Yes. So cut it out. You are unnecessarily disadvantaging them for your own convenience.

P.S.: If someone is using a computer with a spelling and grammar correction capability, how will you catch students with learning disabilities so that they can get help sooner rather than later? How are you going to detect copy and paste plagiarism, if it's possible to copy and paste?

Re:Exactly this. Rethink your curriculum.

[tlambert]

For the not the right class argument: Yes, English need not be taught using computers but who are we to tell him that he should ignore the limitless free ed content out there...

It think that kind of comes with giving him the job title "teacher", rather than the job title "media facilitator".

These kids will need to learn basic computing skills sometime especially if they are ever to escape poverty.

So have them *also* take a computer class. They should learn English in their English class.

Re:Exactly this. Rethink your curriculum.

[tnk1]

I agree that you don't need a computer to learn English lit. I had some access to computers in my school, but mostly everything was books and paper. They did make me type all my papers after a certain point, though, so typing papers is a far-from-new phenomenon.

However, computers are becoming so pervasive for everything these days that I think relying on only a "computer class" to integrate the practical use of computers just isn't going to cut it if these students want to deal with the realities of life in the 21st Century in the US. Everything is going online and eventually everyone will need to use a computer for something. This is a different world than I grew up in, and as I look at my parents, struggling through using computers, the last thing I want to do is manufacture more people who are less proficient with them in the name of good old book learning.

Textbooks are extremely expensive as well, and while they may be readable for a long time, they certainly can become obsolete and completely lack interactivity. I think schools should be able to provide enough computers for the use of their students. I know that certain teachers sometimes turn these computers into playthings, and for that, I think we need someone to take a good look at where and when computers are appropriate. But make no mistake, they are quite simply the replacement for libraries and typewriters, being more functional and much more convenient than either. .Librarians themselves are not outdated, but card catalogs and the Dewey Decimal system alone just aren't cutting it any more.

If anything, I'd turn the library into rows of desks with computers on them and have librarians spend their time finding online resources to curate and add to an "online school library" which can be research source with better provenance than the general Internet. I love books, and they have their own virtues, but they also have serious limitations. They certainly should remain in some form, and an English class is probably the best place for them to remain permanently, but textbooks in general just have portability to speak for them, and today, not even that now that lightweight tablets and laptops are out there. My full-on laptop today weighs as much as just one textbook (of many) that I used to lug around and can contain by itself, copies of every textbook I have ever used, with a lot of spare room. And that's ignoring the internet.

The real problem with the Internet is that it can be difficult to use it as a trustworthy reference resource, but that can be overcome by developing a standard set of resources online.

I don't want to over-do my enthusiasm for computers in school. Time and time again, they get used as toys by teachers who don't know how to use them, and enthusiasts who become teachers and end up teaching more about computers than the subject at hand. However, they do represent progress in how information can be shared, produced and distributed and cannot be ignored in any school that is trying to do more than simply impart basic literacy and McDonald's worker skills.

Re:Stream 11

[Archangel Michael]

Pi is not a viable option because it isn't a complete solution on its own.

And not considering TCO is also a problem with "low cost" solutions, because if the initial cost is low, but ends up being a complete time sink for IT to support the "low cost", all you have done is cost shifted from product to services by IT. The cost of servicing IT devices is the bane of IT departments everywhere.

Re:stop teaching

[CimmerianX]

In the teacher's defense, what they teach and how they teach is mandated by the district. Today's teachers just aren't given the same flexibility that teachers had back in my day. Everything is 'standardized' now, including the schoolwork which is approved by the district.... and remember the district is 'sold' the curriculum by private companies who like putting stuff online because it's cheaper for them.

I keep telling people that the US got to the Moon with people taught in a classroom with books, chalkboard, and pencil/paper. Ipads are NOT a necessity for learning no matter how hard Apple tells you that they are.

Re:before home internet and PC was so common

[CimmerianX]

Agreed for the term paper or research project. But today's kids are given daily homework that requires internet access. My kids aren't taught in class. The teacher assigns the online reading for them as homework. If a kid can't get to the library before it closes (i.e. wait for parent to get home to drive them), then they are shit outta luck.

Re:Stream 11

[ShanghaiBill]

Something like the Stream 7 tablet at $100

They could get something way better if they bought used instead of new. My local Goodwill has usable laptop computers for $25. That is less than the cost of a single textbook. Most come with Windows and MS-Office pre-installed. As a bonus, some come with a photo collection of the previous owner.

Re:Option #3

[Forgefather]

Came here to say this. Add to that local universities and large companies. Both will probably give you relative discounts if you direct business towards them and in many cases they are going to throw away the old machines anyway. My old university had a lot of money, but also had closets full of old Pentium and core 2 duo machines that they had no idea how to get rid of. Craigslist is also your friend.

Used computers are probably the best way to go if you are looking for a machine for sub $50, and I doubt you will be able to go down to 20 unless you or the kids are willing to go dumpster diving for parts or are really lucky.

The other alternative is to do what I did growing up without a computer with typed document requirements. Get to school before class and stay after to type up the documents at the library computers. Just a simple thumb drive allowed me to save all of my documents. I never even owned my own computer until High School (in the late 2000's). If I didn't have time in school I would draft the documents by hand and just transcribe them in the mornings.

Re:How cheap is cheap? What needs to be done?

[fnj]

So, how cheap is cheap? $50? $100? $200?

Pay attention for god sake. From TFS, he knows how to do it for $170, but that is too much. So you know it has to be significantly below that figure.

I noted the suggestion of linux. Are you prepared to teach linux?

Oh shut up. What do you suggest? Windows? OS X? Do you think he can afford to "teach" those?

Nine Dolla

[sycodon]

Cheap.

Re:Stream 11

[Anonymous Coward]

I've seen those photos.

It isn't a bonus.

HP Stream 7

[rwa2]

They provide students access to equipment at school, the op is asking for options for them to be able to work from home. For the most part $50 is going to be the very bottom, but will usually need some things added on to make them really usable, a $50 tablet is going to suck for typing reports without a USB-to-go cable and keyboard.

Something like the Stream 7 tablet at $100 (sometimes less) would be close, but fails the hdmi output they are wanting. Realistically they are looking at $75-$150 to get a decently usable general purpose type of system. The lower end requiring more assembly type of work and technical knowledge.

I think the HP Stream 7 is a very workable device, and often goes on sale for $80 or less. HDMI will become less of an issue with wireless display to SmartTVs (or cheap HDMI dongles that turn regular TVs and projectors to SmartTVs)

Reposting from yesterday's "Best Tablet?" thread:

I'm pretty happy with our HP Stream 7 that we picked up early this year. Win10 on it is fine. Win8.x wasn't as much of a pain as people would lead you to believe. The OSK is still crap, though (even after enabling the hidden full 104-key virtual keyboard), so I threw a bluetooth keyboard and also a nice mouse at it.

$20 BT keyboard http://www.amazon.com/Jelly-Co...
$30 BT mouse http://www.amazon.com/Microsof...

Runs Steam fine, much of my 2D game library works well. People have reported success getting it to boot Linux. Its main limitation is the 1GB of RAM which preempts a lot of multitasking, but for that price, you can buy one tablet for each app you want to run and line them up on your desk and walls and laugh maniacally.

The nice thing about the current proliferation of smartphones and tablets is that, unlike old power-hungry PCs, they're still pretty useful after you retire them to a life as a digital photo frame or weather station or garage door opener or baby monitor or dashcam or whatever.

Re:stop teaching

[LWATCDR]

" Today's teachers just aren't given the same flexibility that teachers had back in my day."
That is not always a bad thing. I remember my 5th grade teachers used science textbooks from 1967 in 1976. Yes she had a bunch of new science books but she did not like to teach science and we would go weeks without a science lesson.
My sister had the same books two years later.

Salvage computers

[goombah99]

Consider involving others as a charity. You may want to talk to some salvage computer business. These folks buy computers by the pallette from govt and industry and schools. Usually these are less than 3 years old and in fantastic shape except most will be missing a hard drive. Almost by definition, anything you buy this way will have an easy to access hard drive bay (otherwise they just grind them up), so it's not too much of a hurdle to recondiution these. Now, getting one at a wholesale price is another matter-- they sell them for a profit. But maybe for a good cause you could talk them into sell you a palette at cost. If you are part of a school this might even be profitable write-off for them. Then run them off a USB stick entirely (128Mb $7 these days). Or if you can get some community organization like the Eagles or Rotary Club to volunteer to put in some harddrives. Let the kids install Linux off a live USB so they all get the same platform and apps.

That leaves you with something far better than an XO-1.

Irrational

[s.petry]

Your statement indicates that you have one of two possible beliefs. First, you may believe that 100% of poverty is caused by drugs, booze, and cigarettes? Alternatively, you may be attempting to claim that poverty pushes 100% of the population living that way into drugs, booze, and cigarettes.

Perhaps you meant to say something other than an absolutely false generalization and wish to apologize for being incorrect and induce dialogue on how poverty impacts everyone differently?

Re:Stream 11

[AK Marc]

Not if you contract with a leasing company to get a deal on ex-lease computers. They should be 100% functional, re-imaged as new, and are usually pretty cheap.3-5 year old business computers for under $100,

Re:Stream 11

[JimSadler]

I left K-12 in 1963. At that time we had many teachers who had insisted on typed papers being turned in and that practice was common back to about 1956 . We were not allowed to use white-out for errors so any glitch mean typing a page. A paper written in the ninth grade might mean 15 hours for me to peck it out. That meant that using a machine in someone else's home was not practical. So in essence we were indirectly required to get a typewriter or receive very low grades. The hand written paper may well be considered as not completed as required. The problem with kids getting a computer today are about the same as it was for us getting a typewriter. Schools need to supply students with these items. We ran into the same problem in chemistry classes as the slide rule calculations were difficult and required great precision. It helped to be able to buy a high quality slide rule.

Winbook

[unixisc]

I have a top of the line Winbook - 2GB/32GB upgraded to Windows 10 - and that cost me $100. If the student doesn't need Windows 10 and can do w/ Windows 8, s/he could use a 1GB/16GB equivalent for $80. I doubt one would get much cheaper than that.

If one has access to a discarded USB or bluetooth keyboard and mouse, then one effectively has a PC, which could do the work. Assuming that the software one needs - Office, et al - is already there. If you're talking about budgets, it's rather ridiculous to think about HDMI screens - anyone who can afford an HDMI TV can just as easily afford a $250 laptop, which is what I bought recently for work purposes.

I think this solution is simpler than the submitter makes it out to be

Re:Stream 11

[twistedcubic]

Leave a note on the bulletin board at your local library offering inexpensive computers.