Recently updated for the 2026 back-to-school shopping season!
What follows is advice for shopping for your family’s next computer, from our IT SysAdmin, Levi.
Before we talk about dollar amounts
You get what you pay for
The number-one thing to remember when buying technology is that you generally get what you pay for. That doesn’t necessarily mean a cheap computer is worse—one of my favourite and most-used computers was US$5 brand new—but different brands and product lines prioritise different things.
Sales and promotions
The industry changes quickly. If a product is on sale, there is a good chance the retailer is clearing inventory because newer products are replacing it. Because of that, and because computers are often designed to last only two to four years, it is unwise to purchase something on sale without remembering the strong caveat that there is usually a reason the store is trying to clear it from its shelves.
In my experience, money saved at purchase often ends up being spent later when the computer must be replaced sooner. In many cases it makes more sense, both financially and logistically, to buy the model that is not on sale. This principle also applies to refurbished products.
It's not to say that you shouldn't buy something that's sold for less than MSRP, but that you should inspect the potential reasoning for the discount and take that into account when making the final decision.
Education discounts and back-to-school sales
Apple considers home-schooling parents to be teachers for the purpose of education discounts that apply to primary and secondary education staff. They place limits on purchases, but many products are discounted by roughly 10%. Apple’s education store is here, and other manufacturers run similar promotions, so if you have a specific product in mind it is worth checking whether the manufacturer offers an education discount.
In the months leading up to the school year, these discounts often become stronger and may include promotions such as “buy a laptop, get free headphones”. Although these promotions are aimed at students heading to post-secondary education, they often include school “staff”, just like the year-round education discounts.
A keen observer might point out that the earlier warning about sale prices applies here as well, and that is not entirely wrong. The difference is intent. A sale on an older product may exist simply to clear shelf space, whereas education discounts exist because manufacturers know that if they get a student using their brand early, that student may become a repeat customer later.
Laptop versus desktop
Beyond practical considerations, such as whether the computer needs to be portable or remain in one place for supervised use, remember that $1,000 worth of laptop buys something with different priorities than $1,000 worth of desktop. Comparing the specs between the two categories is somewhat like comparing two different fruits.
What about a tablet?
Tablets are excellent devices. They handle certain tasks in ways that make more sense than a traditional computer. Like the comparison between laptops and desktops, however, a tablet is a fundamentally different device with different priorities, primarily a large touchscreen and battery inside a slim case.
We should also remember that using tablets and laptops teach different skills. Children develop different kinds of hand–eye coordination and different expectations about computer interfaces depending on which device they use.
Now, what’s your budget?
Less than $500
At this price point, the best value is usually a Chromebook. Because ChromeOS is a lightweight operating system that requires fewer resources, it can deliver good performance for the kinds of tasks students typically perform without requiring expensive hardware.
Acer, Dell, and Samsung all make solid Chromebooks, though there are a myriad of brands. If possible, it is useful to see the computer in a brick-and-mortar store to evaluate build quality and durability. If you are looking for the cheapest possible computer, Costco’s lowest-priced model is often surprisingly good value.
Windows computers do exist at this price, but part of the cost is the Windows licence and the hardware capable of running Windows. Unless you specifically need Windows to run certain software, a Chromebook will often provide better value.
$500+
At this level, many more options become available, including traditional Windows computers. HP, Acer, Dell, and MSI are brands that frequently offer solid models.
Apple’s two cheapest computers, the Mac mini (yes, the lowercase is correct) and the recently-released MacBook Neo, both start at under $700 with education pricing.
Chromebooks also exist in this price range, often with more storage. Many are hybrid devices with touchscreens that fold around to function as tablets. I'm not personally a fan of these designs, but they can be useful for users who would benefit from the dual use.
$1,000+
At this point, more powerful Apple computers become affordable, along with higher-end Windows devices from companies such as Dell and Microsoft (particularly the Surface line), which are often positioned as Apple-like alternatives. There is generally little downside to a computer at this price, or even several hundred dollars more, so long as the buyer understands they are paying a premium price for a premium product.
It was with the support of their local school principal that Ken and Marlane Noster brought home their eldest child, half way through grade 3; but the superintendent threatened to charge them with truancy. The late 80’s were rife with inconsistencies in treatment of home schoolers.
Are you beating your head against a wall? Is your thirteen year old impossible to teach? Is the curriculum that has worked so well in the past suddenly "boring?"
I recently spoke with a mother of many who, after completing an enjoyable unit study of reading and discussion on Holland, decided her fourteen year old son should follow-up this project with something concrete. She asked him to write an essay on the history of the development of the tulip industry - a topic they had all found to be interesting. As days of reluctance dragged into weeks of resistance, a normally affable mother-son relationship became outright antagonistic....
By this time of year you will likely have developed a pattern or routine in your home-school day to accomplish your selected program of studies. Your children engage themselves with the various subjects that you assign them, most often with the help of a text book or other written resource. Depending on your child’s age and ability, the reading in these books may be done by your child, or you may be the one to read and explain the material to your eager learner.
When I look back on my years of home schooling through high school, I am sure that I will have many fond memories of WISDOM’s Online Courses. Since the autumn of 2003, I have taken seven online courses, all of which were profitable. I take one every season – In fact, one season I took three at the same time! My plans are to continue into my eighth course in the upcoming school year. I do not wish to stop!
I was not sure that I would feel this way when I first signed up for a course three years ago. This was the “Introductory Great Books” course. When I looked at the reading list initially, I was uncertain as to whether I could manage the weekly reading assignments, or discuss them adequately. After all, books such as the “Iliad”, the “Aeniad”, and, at that time, “War and Peace”, can seem rather intimidating to a nearly-thirteen-year-old! I thought that the conversation might be over my head, especially as there were students in the class several years older than me. However, encouraged by my parents, and made hopeful by seeing that such favourite authors of mine as Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien were on the list, I took a deep breath and signed up for the course.
What's the difference?
"What's the difference between parent-led and teacher-led? Why do some families get different homeschool funding than others? I hear about 'aligned' or 'blended' or 'school-delivered' or 'teacher-led' or 'parent-led'... are there really that many kinds of home schooling?"
We hear questions like this frequently, and hope that the following information will help you to make an informed decision in your own educational journey. All learning-at-home options in Alberta fall under one of the following categories.
Are you wondering what's new or what's coming up with WISDOM? Did you accidentally delete your e-Newsletter? No problem! Below, you can find a list of e-Newsletters from this school year.
If you'd like to receive our e-newsletter, please contact our office.
Ken Noster Classical High School Education (click here to download - 37mb)
John Miller Be Patient and Build on Your Strengths (click here to download - 13mb)
Paul van den Bosch Conduct: Real-life Skills (click here to download - 14mb)
Randy Kopp Redefining High School Completion (click here to download - 26mb)
Joe Pollock Science and Math (click here to download - 22mb)
Mike & Michele Barter Panic Button Syndrome (click here to download - 28mb)
Bill Gurney Post Secondary Education Without an Alberta Diploma (click here to download - 27mb)
Louis Sehn Trades-Tips, Tricks, and Tools (click here to download - 19mb)
Mark Meakes Choosing to Work (click here to download - 12mb)
When I was a kid, we had screentime. Our device was a B&W TV with three channels and one was in French. If you’re sitting there wondering “what device is a B&W TV?” that’s because it was before your time, and if you’re nodding your head saying “Yeah I remember,” you are old… I mean, old-er. If you wanted to see a movie you had to go to the movie theater. That changed with the advent of new technology and what is called “user controlled content”. User controlled content is where the individual using the device can control what they see and hear. With changing technology the user has gone from just simply using the device, to interacting with the device, and finally immersing themselves into the device. (I’ll clear things up later regarding the last one.)
Here is a summary of information that should be helpful to those who want to participate in the WISDOM Homeschooling Science and Technology events:
The event is NOT a competition. There will be no ‘judges’ and there are no prizes. Rather, this is an opportunity for a student or family to summarize their course of study in an area of science and/or technology. No one should feel as though someone else has a ‘better’ topic. Rather, this is an opportunity to share YOUR learning with others. Thereby, everyone can benefit by being exposed to a greater variety of topics that might not be achievable on one’s own.