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School Regrets Swapping Laptops For iPads
Barence writes "A school swapped all its staff laptops for iPads — and now wants to switch them back. 'Most staff are IT illiterate and jumped at the chance of exchanging their laptop for an iPad,' a teacher from the school told PC Pro. Now, however: 'the staff room is full of regret.' Difficulties editing old Word and PowerPoint documents, transferring work to and from the device without USB sticks, and problems with projecting the iPad's display to the classroom — bizarrely, using an Apple TV — have led to staff once again reaching for their Windows laptops."
I love my iPad for reading and viewing stuff. Editing? Not so much. I dread the moment where I have to hover over, click on the right place and edit. Useless.
An ipad is a toy. A laptop is a tool. Idiots.
you sure don't grab a toy. you grab the tool that works.
sometimes you have to pay twice to learn this.
Stand up a XenApp server and load the Citrix Receiver.
There may be no "I" in team, but there's also no "F" in way.
... to every organization with staff: tablets are for consumption, not production. If your staff will have the regular need to create or edit anything more complex than an email, it will be a chore on a tablet, if not impossible, regardless of whether the tablet can load files from a thumbdrive or over a network.
This story supports my position that tablets are stupid except for a very few vertical business markets, and will go away faster than netbooks once people can see past the hype.
The story states the issue is compatibility with Office documents. Perhaps Windows 8-powered tablets was what you meant to say.
Difficulties editing old Word and PowerPoint documents...
Their problem is bigger than the iPad in the classroom.
I've been using tablets in an educational environment since about 2006. I guess today they would be called Tablet PCs, but they were infinitely more useful in an educational setting for one reason, and it's not that they ran standard PC apps (in fact quite the opposite because most apps were no optimized for touch, etc.). It was the stylus, which most "tablets" lack today. Writing on my tablet with a stylus and being able to archive notes, search handwritten notes, reference supplemental materials and paste them into my notes, etc. were killer applications. The fact that my tablet was convertible also meant that when I needed to, I could set up my tablet PC like a regular laptop with a full monitor, mouse, and keyboard, and use it like any other laptop with fully fledged Office. Many here balked at the Tablet PC then, and continue to balk at the tablet PC now, but it was a hell of a lot more useful for me than my iPad ever was, if not only for the ability to support a proper digitized stylus and robust handwriting recognition.
Tablet PCs today still have major disadvantages, but I'm very intrigued at the new crop of hybrid tablet/laptops coming out from Samsung, Asus, and Microsoft. Transformer prime was half way there, but it still was a very poor laptop substitute in laptop mode (couldn't run full desktop-class apps, mouse support inconsistent across the OS and apps).
The general idea - that you get computer-illiterate staff away from general-purpose computers and onto more appliance-like systems is a good one. More flexibility in the end-users' hands means more difficulties supporting them and more spaghetti work practices.
The problem though, is that it sounds like they thought they could just dump the product on them and their problems would be solved. These people will have had deeply-ingrained workflows that frequently include all manner of hacks and workarounds that have glommed together over the years. If you're going to move them away from that, you need to move their workflows and content too, otherwise they are stuck trying to do the old thing with products that aren't designed for it.
I'm not sure what's so bizarre about using an AppleTV in that way though - it's designed for that purpose and it works great in that kind of situation.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
iPads in the classroom can be a great tool. But here's the thing. You have to plan for it before adoption.
Projection: AirPlay, HDMI, or VGA?
Documents: KeyNote, Quicktime, PDF; or maybe go to something less prepared and more on the fly. It can be neat to have a blackboard in your hand that projects on the screen.
Storage: Internal cloud, iBooks/iTunes for education where you can create your own courses with files, Moodle.
etc, etc. And only after you've worked these things out, you then beta-test by having a few tech savvy instructors run courses with them. Collect feedback. Discuss. Revise.
For the love of gods, don't just buy a bunch of hardware, hand it to people, and tell them to go educate. How's that supposed to work?
So...The staff, a bunch of teachers, are IT illiterate. And, instead of TEACHING them how to actually use a computer, the answer is...to buy them iPads to try and avoid the issue.
No teacher has a right to complain about students not wanting to learn if they're not willing to learn how to use the tools required by their job.
And when are school boards and parents going to learn that throwing fancy new tech at a problem doesn't fix the problem...or even the symptoms of the problem? Changing tech doesn't fix things. Changing PROCESSES fixes things.
Always test a deployment of new hardware within a single department, or smaller group, before implementing it throughout the building.
My biggest gripes with my iPad3 as a work device are:
One's fingers does not provide fine movement input like a mouse, touchpad, or fine tip pen/stylus (like the Samsung Note/Note2), which is needed for creating decent graphical design work. (It is far easier to move a mouse, touchpad, or pen/stylus by a single pixel, then my finger.)
Proper unrestricted filesystem that lets you locally share documents easily and securely locally across different applications, without handing over your unencrypted work to untrustworthy 3rd party cloud services. Why could I upload my personal document to Apple's iCloud and download it again, just to open it up in a different app?
And proper cut-and-paste of graphical (non-text) objects between applications. Why can't I click on an image, powerpoint/keynote diagram, etc, and copies these into the clipboard, and then paste into a word/pages document or e-mail message?
No, I would say it is a "not looking at the tool in question" issue. Ipads are not a replacement for laptops, especially for the uses the school seems to want.
This seems like jumping on a bandwagon before really thinking about what the new gadgets will be used for.
I would blame the IT department (without reading TFA) who did not explain the limitations of the ipads...
Yeah, I know, so much for my karma....
My mum's a teacher in a British school (like the article). They've just this month opened a new building, with all-new classrooms and IT equipment. She says the best improvement over what they had before is new (Windows) laptops and correctly set up docking stations on the teacher's desk in every room -- connecting to the projector, a real keyboard/mouse, the interactive whiteboard, and the network, is done instantly. (Most classrooms have had an interactive whiteboard for years now, teachers love them. The main complaint seems to be the usual IT bureaucracy: tiny quota for email, laptop expected to be used while at home not working properly on the home network, etc.)
She teaches at a secondary school (age 11/12 to 15/16).
The iPad is GREAT for CONSUMING content.
It suck for GENERATING content.
So anyone with an iPad has more status than anyone who does their work on a laptop (which has more status than someone with a desktop).
And they get to watch movies and stuff on it at home.
> and problems with projecting the iPad's display
> to the classroom — bizarrely, using an Apple TV
HA HA! /Nelson
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
While I agree that tablets are currently consumption devices, the Pages (MS Word Equivalent) and Keynote (PPT Editor) are actually quite mature and tailored for the tablet. Add GoodReader to that (PDF editor/annotator) and you can do a LOT of day to day viewing and minor editing.
That being said, I'm typing this on my Windows laptop :)
Honestly, this is an administration issue. Instead of cutting the entire school over to iPads in the classroom, they should simply have selected a couple of classrooms to try using them for a year. If the issues that crop up are insurmountable, the technology can be abandoned without significant disruption, cost and time wasted. This is the way we usually do things in business, after all.
Interfacing with USB sticks would be a step toward compatibility with ubiquitous standards. Don't expect that from Apple.
., and I say, but you miss my point.
I can bluetooth transfer a file to any phone made ten years ago, or to any modern phone or computer. But not to an iPhone -- because that would again, require compatibility with common standards. My friend (an Apple fanboy) says, but there is the neato file transfer app for the iPhone . . .
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
Just teach the kids reading, writing and arithmetic. You don't need laptops for iPads for that. Use a good ole chalkboard. Then, once the children have mastered these basics, you can move them to computers.
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
Having been in this situation twice in the last couple of years, I would bet the IT department did explain the limitations of the iPads and were overruled by the teachers who wanted shiny toys they could show off to their friends.
What secret iPad models are they using that interface with USB sticks?
They probably mean the existing workflow "demands" USB sticks because last time the curriculum was reviewed, 10 years ago, they were all the rage. And there's no really good way to use a flash stick with a gen 1 ipad like mine. Dropbox works great, however.
I use dropbox and google drive and haven't used a USB other than as a bootable device in ... donno how many years, maybe 5 to 10 now, but my kids elementary school shopping list for 4th grade and up demands they buy "flash stick, 1 GB" which probably was pretty ambitious/expensive 10 years ago but I don't think you can buy ones that small anymore.
I would imagine once cloud storage is obsolete, the school will hire a very high priced consultant who happens to be related to a school board member and they'll review the curriculum and demand the kids use cloud storage for the next ten years.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
Pay for the unnecessary but expensive things first, then go crying that you need money for necessities. This is a common practice in many organizations. Supposedly the first thing that would go up at a new base is the officers club since if it was the last money wouldn't be allocated to it.
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
Because for about a year now I haven't taken my laptop out of the house, and mostly using it for programming, and photo editing. I have spent all this time writing fiction, poetry, outlines, technical documentation, etc; built websites, created diagrams (I prefer using OmniGraffle on the iPad to the desktop version); doing some light experimenting in Lua; making graphics and other things... all because no one told me it sucked at creating content.
But now that you told me, it is all ruined. I will have to lug around the laptop, aggravate the bone spurs in my neck and shoulders, have to put up with shorter battery life, and all that.
Gee thanks
What do you know I wrote a novel
But they are Apple products. They are not supposed to be a "training issue".
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Technically, this already exists. iPad apparently supports Bluetooth keyboards, so you'll find many iPad cases with an integrated BT keyboard.
Here's an example at ThinkGeek.
This is one place where Apple's iron-fisted dominance of design comes in handy. The iPad is a nice consistent formfactor (only a couple of sizes to consider), so it's easy for a brisk aftermarket of compatible accessories, as long as those accessories can either license necessary compatibility technology (charge/audio/data port) or the compatibility is itself fairly open (Bluetooth); I haven't seen a one-size-fits-all equivalent for Android tablets simply because there's so much variability in size and shape.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
Having been in this situation twice in the last couple of years, I would bet the IT department did explain the limitations of the iPads and were overruled by the teachers who wanted shiny toys they could show off to their friends.
'Cause teachers always get what they ask for. Especially if it costs money.
Perhaps you're thinking of the iPad too much like a laptop and not enough as a new way of interacting with a machine.
I've been using the dictation button on the new iPad and it works great. Much better than typing for bulk data input. Then when done, I go back and edit what it couldn't handle (usually not much). Admittedly not a good solution in a noisy classroom or teacher's lounge (background din of people talking), but otherwise, it's good.
Dictation tips: Say "comma", "period", "left paren", "right paren", "quote", "unquote" and "new paragraph" aloud, and it'll do it.
I wonder how much support Khan Academy will have for iPads (teachers monitoring kids running through lessons, like on 60 Minutes). That could be a pretty great use of a tablet. (Carry it with you as you walk from student to student to help them out.)
A desktop is a toy, a workstation is a tool.
A workstation is a toy, a server is a tool.
A server is a toy, a mainframe is a tool.
A mainframe is a toy, a cluster is a tool.
A cluster is a toy, a supercomputer is a tool.
Idiots.
In fact it isn't good for society for everyone to carry the cognitive burden of being an expert in every device they interact with--that's kinda the whole point of technology. Just like not everyone needs to know how their automobile or microwave works. The general direction of appliance computing is a good one for most people--it sounds like in this case they didn't think things through, or maybe they're just having growing pains.
Have you every actually watched someone using an ipad??
Look at this picture for a second. Now imagine the person using an ipad, with her head tilted down to where her hands are so she can see the screen. The phrase "ipad neck" exists to describe the condition this produces. I guess a bluetooth keyboard could make the situation better, but I bet chiropractors get wet with excitement when they hear about another school adopting iPads
USB sticks are one of my most useful tools at work, where I have to transfer files from multiple incompatible systems that may not be on a network at all much less the Internet. I still keep around a couple of 1 gb drives because of the couple of nasty old DVR models that I occasionally run into that won't recognize anything larger.
My sister-in-law is a teacher, and from the stories I hear I would shudder to think of trying to train parents to use Dropbox or one of the other cloud offerings. There are an awful lot of them who still can't figure out how to use freaking Hotmail (seriously). Besides which, there are still many people (especially in poor and rural areas) who still don't have Internet access for one reason or another. As soon as you start demanding that students have internet access in order to be able to do their work you have immediately created an entire class of students that are not allowed to succeed.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
Indeed. Switching the students over to an untested technology that is purely reliant on what will be congested wireless networks, all while running software that is largely compatible with itself.
They also probably thought they'd outsource themselves to 'teh Cloud,' or whatever the f*ck is supposed to make IT obsolete these days.
And using AppleTVs instead of a $30 cable also sounds like a decision the normally 'best bang for the buck' IT guys looks for.
Yeah, I believe that. Let's call it what it is: some administrators / teachers got their hands on some Apple hardware, it worked 'fine' for them at home, then they got everyone else on-board for the big change, which would help the school district save money by lowering IT costs or some other bullsh*t (because it just works!), and now they are learning the painful lesson that supporting one person is not the same as a few hundred.
I am John Hurt.
Idiocracy in action as they all said "shiney, shiney".
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
It never fails to amaze. We spent years talking our staff into getting more mobile, we tested and tested. The tech tech decided to go fully mobile with droid, keeping towers/laptops for things like dvd burning and such to support classrooms/labs and servers when needed (not often). All other tasks were done with VPN/RDP/SAMBA and network resources. We had no problems servicing events, locations, or users from anywhere in the US [we didn't even have to take advantage of the Micro-SD cards and converters to USB devices we had prepared to use..
The staff department enjoyed our success and enhanced response time so much they decided to head down the path of complete mobile as well and began buying iPads. Complete and total failure occurred. No flash, no java, no powerpoint or word support that was reliable. RDP was costly at best, unreliable at worst. As was VPN services. Today, they have scrapped the idea of going mobile to even the point of only having laptops that can be 'checked out' not laptops to keep mobile.
Best you ask, yes the staff did ask us how we performed, what we used, and our results. They asked us for our opinion of iOS for the same functionality, since we tested iPad and droid tablets head to head we informed them of our successes and failures and how we landed at the droid decision. They ignored our results, advice, and expertise... they even purchased iPad 2 devices for their grads that year ... all to the end result of failure and technology budget cut backs. Sad.
If one does not do research and testing, one can expect huge finical loss upon failure.
I agree, laptop is way better than an iPad for this use case. But a couple things bugged me. #1 using an AppleTV to send output to a TV is really obvious and nice, it uses a feature called AirPlay that mirrors the iPad or sends video via WiFi to the AppleTV. And #2, USB sticks to move files? Really, in 2012? Who still does this? I use filebrowser for local fileservers and Dropbox for everything else. Filebrowser is actually fantastic for quickly pulling up files.
Again, I absolutely think they made a poor choice and should stick with laptops, but some of these "problems" are not iPad problems. They are competency problems.