Netbooks have impacted on the learning of our students at Hamble College, no doubt, but what could tablet pcs or ‘slate’ devices bring to the classroom (or outside the classroom for that matter) that a netbook can not.
Technology reporting (hyped by the highly anticipated almost mythical Apple tablet or iSlate) has understandably focused on the mass markets and not merely education and as the iSlate myth gathered steam, so beating Apple to market seemed more of a coup and a slew of devices and prototypes were announced at world trade show CES . Since then, the conversation has mainly focused on consumption and whether or not there truly is a place for such devices. The jury is out. On the one hand you have Hewlett Packard’s chief technology officer, Phil McKinney saying
People are enjoying more and more content from the web. And the real challenge is there aren’t any good consumption-designed devices.
Whilst on the other hand you have Stuart Miles, editor of the technology blog Pocket Lint , saying
If I want to surf the internet around my home I have my phone for that, I’ve got my netbook, my laptop, or my PC. There are lots of options already.
So the jury is out in the consumer marketplace but is there room and a reason for such devices in education?
There are four/five key questions consistently raised by parents / guardians when presenting school Laptops for Learning (L4L) programmes. Not always asked in the same order or with the same passion, but variants of;
Cost? When / how often will they use them in lessons? What about their hand writing? E-safety concerns of one nature or another? And, can they access the internet at home? Slate devices, only addresses one of these questions more proactively than netbooks. A touch screens permits the development of hand writing and swype skills but also means that when it comes to typing, it must be shared with the keyboard. Slates may also handle e-reading a little more proficiently, comfortably with an accelerometer, so watch out e-readers. Another interim device for the consumer, maybe, but I am not confident that education is in a position to accommodate nearly double their costs for mobile learning.