Can powerful, new devices work on your network?

Tim Holt is one of the air traffic controllers of technology at El Paso ISD and as such spends a lot of time exploring new software, devices and approaches to serve his 4500+ teachers, 64,000 students on over 48,000 computers across a very large school district. I recently asked him his thoughts about implementing iPods and iPads within his system and his thoughts have been illuminating as I've explored the idea of using these tools within school systems.

Apple's system is a closed one, that is to say that the OS on the iPod and iPad do not invite you in to tweak, adjust and reconfigure as easily as some would like. It can be maddening to deal with devices with such systems and one has to ask themselves why Apple has done this. One possible answer might be to guarantee the consistency of a quality user experience. Many people who've used a Mac or an iPod or an iPhone would no doubt tell you that their interfaces and user experience are second to none. This is no small consideration if you take into account that getting the end user to use the technology is one of the primary goals of any technology leader. However these closed systems mean that authentication can be an issue with some firewalls. I asked Tim where he stood on this point and he had this to say:

“Many of the issues about network security, in my experience, are often brought up by technical people that have little or no training outside of the Windows world. Many networking people in education today received their training in the 90’s when essentially, Windows was the only game in town. Since then, of course, the world has moved towards more common standards and the same rules for Windows work on Macs and other devices as well. Innovative school districts realize that the flood of devices hitting their networks are coming from all types of manufacturers. Cell phones, iPads and iPhones have forced us to look at how we can embrace student use of technology. There actually is a movement by many districts called BYOT, or bring your own technology, where schools are welcoming student’s personal technology because schools cannot afford it for everyone. The FUD that is often spouted by these network administrators, when you really get down to it, is because they have not kept themselves up-to-date on the bigger pictures of networking. And that, in the long run, is a training issue more than anything else."

The integration of a potentially powerful new tool might in his words "warrant some tweaking with a system or two." When you consider the potential of constantly evolving, affordable educational apps and the impact they might have on teachers and learners, you have to think beyond the configuration of your current firewall. This is not to say we should take down firewalls, more to the point we should use the web and it's many rich tools and resources to extend learning for all students. The user experience in this case outweighs the growing pains of incorporating these devices. If the goal is adoption and use of technology, why would anyone balk when it comes to utilizing devices that even new users are instantly comfortable with? This is not about the people who are already digital experts, it's about the comfort and cooperation of end users like teachers, counselors, administrators and kids.

I asked Tim about the price point of an entry level iPad as it pertained to an overall technology budget and what role he saw these devices eventually playing within his system. "We are not just looking at iPads and other devices as a way to move towards true one-to-one computing, but also at how this device is going to be used in the future. The price point is pretty good, and frankly, I am looking at how these devices are going to be used as electronic textbooks in the coming years. We know that textbooks are going digital, and the more we know and understand these types of devices the more prepared we will be when that transition actually takes place. So when we let students use these devices, we are using that not only as a learning opportunity for them, but for us as well."

It is clear that a sea change of sorts is occurring in educational computing. It started with net books, with their portability and affordability but the learning capacity multiplying affect of apps has brought handheld computers like iPods and iPad into the forefront.

What I hope is that people in Tim's position will be as open minded as he and his team are and will really explore the possibilities of incorporating these engaging, useful and potentially world changing devices. What is clear is that without vision from tech directors and administration, as well as teachers, none of these new tools will be much more than toys. I predict that many people will resist even the idea of allowing these tools to live organically on their networks and will see them as intruders. What I hope is that tech leaders find ways to embrace them because the world we're preparing kids to be successful in already has.