Assignment 3

For teaching subject areas like Government and Economics my computer needs are pretty basic. I use the computer for taking attendance, creating documents for my class, show united streaming videos and PowerPoint’s. My students have access to computers on charts and we have a mini computer lab for them to work on creative projects as needed.

I choose the Inspiron 537 to build and purchase for my classroom. The starting price was $249.00.
The computer comes in several colors but basic black will meet my needs.
I upgraded my processor from Intel Celeron 450 to Intel Cor 2 Duo Processor 6mb. I thought it would be best to upgrade because the speed of the processor could be important when downloading video streams. I took the Windows 7 operating system because the operating system that came with the computer at no cost was Windows Vista. I am not really familiar with Vista and therefore not attached to it. Windows 7’s touch screen interests me because I teach special ed and I thought this would assists students with fine motor skill deficits.

I opted for the 1-year warranty in hopes that our tech person will be able to fix anything minor that goes wrong with the computer after a year. For security software I took the trial pack because I can download security software cheaper later. Microsoft Works comes with the basic price but I want to upgrade to Microsoft Office Small Business 2007. My students will use Word and Excel the most. I went with 320 GB ATA Hard Drive and 3GB of memory because most of my materials can either be stored on an external drive or the server.

The basic 17” wide screen monitor works fine for my classroom needs. I have a projector that I can hook up to my computer if I need the students to see anything on the screen. I will need a CD/DVD burner to burn CD’s of students projects and portfolios. I selected the basic integrated Intel Video Card because I will not need the ATI Radeon card. My current computer has an integrated video card and it meets my needs at this time. The same is true with the sound card. I ordered the Dell AX210 stereo speakers because I will need them for bigger sound when I show videos in the classroom.

I purchased a media card reader and wireless card because may need to have a way to save my files to transport them onto another computer. I don’t know if I really needed the wireless card but chose it anyway just in case the district decides to go wireless in the next couple of years. My choices would be a little different if I was purchasing this computer for home. I would upgrade the hard drive and memory as well as the video card because I store more graphics and pictures on my computer at home. My final cost of the computer is $982.00.