Ipad vs. Macbook for 1 to 1

This post is our evaluation at Grundy Center of the Ipad 2 as a 1 to 1 machine for middle school kids.  Grundy Center is currently a 1 to 1 laptop school in grades 9-12 and we are expanding the program to the Middle School next year.  When the Ipad 2 came out I was very excited.   The device looked like a contender as a 1 to 1 machine.   I had some administrators that were very excited about them as well, asking if they could be used in a 1 to 1 program.   I resonded that we need to evaluate them first, how can we make a decision on something we have never held in our hands?  So I was the first order my Apple sales rep took and we received 15 of them within a few weeks. We then went into the process of evaluating the machine.   Who ultimately makes the decision?  What do we need in a machine?  Can we get them to function in our environment?   All of these questions have been evaluated and answered for our school.   This piece should not be used as a verdict of any type for any other environment.   This is Grundy Center specific and specific to this time.   I am not evaluating the future, I am evaluating what I can currently hold in my hands.

Process

            We have had several of the first generation Ipads in the math department so we had a background.   I had never really managed these Ipads or tried to push out applications to them.   We just used a single Macbook and common account to get the apps and things we needed.   I had one very techy teacher that had them for his classroom.   So when we got the new ones in I started my discussion with him.   I then distributed the Ipads to the teachers in the middle school and told them the purpose of our evaluation.

            So the teachers set forth looking at this new gizmo and thinking about what the kids need to do in their classrooms.   We later met and had a nice discussion to determine what we were going to do.   I wanted the teachers to make this decision.   They know what technology they need in their classrooms.   I don’t want a machine that does not fit their needs.   

While the teachers were evaluating them, I was in my skunk-works of an office trying to figure out how to manage these things.   I spent much time on the phone with Jamf Software (a leader in ipad management) and got all the appropriate certificates and technology pieces in place.   We were successful, we could push apps out and even set preferences.

So after our teachers have had some time with the devices and I had figured out how we can manage them the staff and I met again.   We made a list of pros and cons and made a decision on whether or not it is the device we want for 1 to 1.  In an educational setting we have to look at the affordances and constraints of any piece of technology.

 

Positive Aspects of the Ipad

•  Form Factor – Durability and Size.    I tell you, we were all impressed with the construction of the ipad2.   It is very well done and I think it will hold up very well over time.   We also bought the magnetic covers and they do a good job of protecting the screen.   Did not do a drop test, but laptops don’t do well when dropped either.

• Cameras - The use of the device as a video camera is really convenient.   It is a nice function of the ipad.   And yes, you do have imovie and it does run very well.   You would have to move it to a computer to burn it, but we don’t do that much anymore, we post it someplace anyway. 

•  Cost - At $499 with a $35 cover, the base model is pretty cheap.  There will be some extra costs for software.   My latest list of software we would want, at volume pricing, adds about 115 dollars to the machine.   So we are at 650 dollars.  This does not include a Bluetooth keyboard.  Whether we need that or not, is a still a matter of debate.

•  Coolness – Ok this thing is cool, it is just an amazing piece of hardware.   The rotating screen is quick and it really is fun to use.  The interactivity of the touch screen is also something kids do enjoy.

            Kids will be able to do lot of their work on the Ipad2.   They can type away, manage photos and video.  They will have access to their Google docs and can also use pages, numbers and keynote.    The garage band app is just awesome there are about 60,000 other apps we have not even investigated yet.   So we do have the ability to do many of the things we need to do on the Ipad 2 but it is not without limitations.

 

Limitations of the Ipad 2

• Lack of Flash - Regardless of where you fall on the Adobe vs Apple debate the lack of flash is a huge issue for us.   Teachers reported that several of the sites they want kids to utilize are not available on the Ipad 2.   The big one for us was the inability to do Accelerated Reader testing on the Ipad 2.  Accelerated Reader and Star testing are flash based.   We use this program and not being able to test on the device requires us to keep a lab in a 1 to 1 school.  For example, you can view a Prezi but not create one, we want our kids creating them.  This kind of limitation proved true for many legitimate and popular creativity/collaboration sites and services.

• NWEA Testing - Well we also would need to keep the lab to do the map testing for our district.   There is no way to do it on the Ipad 2.  We find this to be the most useful and valuable assessment we have on our students.

• Ergonomics - Several teachers were concerned about the position you must be in to type on them.   The solution would be a stand and Bluetooth keyboard.   I am not sure this is very practical but it would work.

• Software - We have all of the Adobe suite.  We want kids creating things that are unique and special.   The adobe suite installed on our Macbooks offers the kids much more functionality.   The Ipad2 is getting better but is limited in the creativity side in our opinion.  Same is true for Sketchup, Blender and other important pieces of software.

• Security - This is the big one from a technology directors perspective.   Regardless of how you set them up the security is just too easy to get around.   I called Jamf software and asked  how to limit the ability to erase the device.   I don’t want kids to have the ability to erase the thing and start over.    If they do this they have the ability to whatever they want, this could be problematic with middle-schoolers.   Jamf told me there is no way to do it.   Apple IOS is intended as a single user operating system and there is no way to limit the reset function.   Ok, I am not a network Nazi by any means but I don’t need phone calls from Middle School parents about the portable bubble shooting porn machine they just found in their child’s room.   I am sorry, this one really bothers me.

 

The Verdict

            The teachers were unanimous, they want the children to have laptops next year. 
The lack of security also causes me to prefer the Macbook as well.  There is nothing we can do with the Ipad that you cannot do on a Macbook.  The opposite however is not true.   I do not want my teachers to have to plan around the limitations of the device.  There are many good sites, software programs and services that just are not available on the Ipad at this point in time.

The cost factor is not enough for us to change our 1 to 1 plans.   I actually think we will be spending as much with Ipads considering we still have to support a lab to compensate for some of the Ipad limitations.  I am a couple of hundred dollars apart in price.  If we added a keyboard that number goes down.   Not to mention the length of time the device will be in service, I have laptops running OSX that are 6 years old.   My guess this will not be the case with IOS devices.  

The constraints of the device just outweigh the affordances right now.   This may change in the future, but for next fall we are going with laptops for our 1 to 1.  The Ipad is a wonderful consumption tool but we are hoping to put our kids in a creative environment.  Like I stated before this is for our school,  your environment and purposes may be perfect for the ipad.  It just does not measure up in our case.