680 Module 2 Discussion
Hello Class,
For this discussion we have been given the opportunity to act as a technology lead for a district and chose the hardware that will be used for 1:1 instruction. Our two choices were Ipads or Chromebooks. I definitely come into this assignment with a bit of a bias as our district currently uses chromebooks. Not only that, I am very anti-apple and purposely stay away from all of their products. Even for my personal use I utilize an android phone, and a Dell PC computer. I tend to feel that their technology and usability is inferior to other products out there. As a technology leader though I need to put these biases aside, and choose what is best for the district. I decided to use the following criteria to determine which tablet to pick for my district: Accessibility for all students, cost, longevity/ upgradeable/ repairable.
Accessibility for Students:
The most important thing to me is how accessible the product is for all students. This means different age groups in a K-12 unit district as well as different learning levels! After all, we always are supposed to put the students needs above everything else in a perfect world. There is a pretty fundamental difference between an I-pad and a Chromebook. The chromebook to me, although considered a tablet, is really a small laptop. The Chromebook has a full keyboard, mouse pad and seperate screen. An I-pad is a true tablet with a touch screen and no keyboard. I think students are used to both types of devices, but as far as getting school work done, I think a traditional laptop like the chromebook really is a more efficient device. Lots of students might find typing on a touchscreen difficult and I could imagine getting work that had lots of keystroke mistakes due to the lack of an external keyboard.
Secondly, if you do not use apple software or haven't used it in the past, an I-pad can be a little confusing to use. The applications are different and the overall user interface seems foreign to me and maybe to many students. Pretty much every student has used a computer and is familiar with the traditional PC interface that comes with a chromebook. Using the internet is similar on both, but the chromebook does lend itself slightly better to the google suite, as the whole platform is based in google. Google sites, classroom, and the drive just function better on a google device such as a chromebook. I can remember students in the past having issues with comparability between apple products and our computers here at our school, I wonder if the I-pads would have similar issues.
Cost:
Because I have my administration "HAT" on I definitely need to think about cost. Although I am sure I would get a massive group or bundle rate for buying in bulk, I used average prices online to make this decision. Everywhere I went I found the I-pad to be more expensive. Unless Apple has a crazy bulk discount, I don't see the I-pads being cheaper. In fact, they are considerably more individually online and that is without the optional attachable keyboard. If you compare Apples to Apples (see what I did there) the cost of an I-pad with a keyboard is over $150 more than that of a chromebook. Again, I realize that bulk pricing would have to be considered, but for now the Chromebook wins on price.
Longevity/Upgradable/repairable
This is a tough category to research. Since we already use chromebooks I went down to ask our tech department about this category and any issues that have popped up over the last year using these devices. Overall, they have had very few that have needed repair that weren't due to user damage. Any that did need repaired were so with no cost. Products that were damaged by the user were often repaired and returned within 2 weeks at varying costs depending on the issues. There is no upgrade with the chromebook and the I-pad takes purchasing a new device to upgrade. They both seem like well built machines, but the I-pad isn't as well protected without the folding screen so I can imagine more screen damage issues. Have you seen the students I-phones? If you work in a high school take a quick survey of their I-phones- I bet you that more than 70% of them are cracked! The screens don't seem well made when compared to other glass screen touchscreens in my observations at school.
In conclusion, I would have to go with the Google Chromebook for my district. In my opinion, and research, it is just a better educational device for a more diverse group of learners. It has more value as far as school work is concerned, and although maybe not the more "cool" product of the two, just a better device! Plus, it costs less, which is always a concern in large purchases such as this.
Thank you,
Jim Nielsen
For this discussion we have been given the opportunity to act as a technology lead for a district and chose the hardware that will be used for 1:1 instruction. Our two choices were Ipads or Chromebooks. I definitely come into this assignment with a bit of a bias as our district currently uses chromebooks. Not only that, I am very anti-apple and purposely stay away from all of their products. Even for my personal use I utilize an android phone, and a Dell PC computer. I tend to feel that their technology and usability is inferior to other products out there. As a technology leader though I need to put these biases aside, and choose what is best for the district. I decided to use the following criteria to determine which tablet to pick for my district: Accessibility for all students, cost, longevity/ upgradeable/ repairable.
Accessibility for Students:
The most important thing to me is how accessible the product is for all students. This means different age groups in a K-12 unit district as well as different learning levels! After all, we always are supposed to put the students needs above everything else in a perfect world. There is a pretty fundamental difference between an I-pad and a Chromebook. The chromebook to me, although considered a tablet, is really a small laptop. The Chromebook has a full keyboard, mouse pad and seperate screen. An I-pad is a true tablet with a touch screen and no keyboard. I think students are used to both types of devices, but as far as getting school work done, I think a traditional laptop like the chromebook really is a more efficient device. Lots of students might find typing on a touchscreen difficult and I could imagine getting work that had lots of keystroke mistakes due to the lack of an external keyboard.
Secondly, if you do not use apple software or haven't used it in the past, an I-pad can be a little confusing to use. The applications are different and the overall user interface seems foreign to me and maybe to many students. Pretty much every student has used a computer and is familiar with the traditional PC interface that comes with a chromebook. Using the internet is similar on both, but the chromebook does lend itself slightly better to the google suite, as the whole platform is based in google. Google sites, classroom, and the drive just function better on a google device such as a chromebook. I can remember students in the past having issues with comparability between apple products and our computers here at our school, I wonder if the I-pads would have similar issues.
Cost:
Because I have my administration "HAT" on I definitely need to think about cost. Although I am sure I would get a massive group or bundle rate for buying in bulk, I used average prices online to make this decision. Everywhere I went I found the I-pad to be more expensive. Unless Apple has a crazy bulk discount, I don't see the I-pads being cheaper. In fact, they are considerably more individually online and that is without the optional attachable keyboard. If you compare Apples to Apples (see what I did there) the cost of an I-pad with a keyboard is over $150 more than that of a chromebook. Again, I realize that bulk pricing would have to be considered, but for now the Chromebook wins on price.
Longevity/Upgradable/repairable
This is a tough category to research. Since we already use chromebooks I went down to ask our tech department about this category and any issues that have popped up over the last year using these devices. Overall, they have had very few that have needed repair that weren't due to user damage. Any that did need repaired were so with no cost. Products that were damaged by the user were often repaired and returned within 2 weeks at varying costs depending on the issues. There is no upgrade with the chromebook and the I-pad takes purchasing a new device to upgrade. They both seem like well built machines, but the I-pad isn't as well protected without the folding screen so I can imagine more screen damage issues. Have you seen the students I-phones? If you work in a high school take a quick survey of their I-phones- I bet you that more than 70% of them are cracked! The screens don't seem well made when compared to other glass screen touchscreens in my observations at school.
In conclusion, I would have to go with the Google Chromebook for my district. In my opinion, and research, it is just a better educational device for a more diverse group of learners. It has more value as far as school work is concerned, and although maybe not the more "cool" product of the two, just a better device! Plus, it costs less, which is always a concern in large purchases such as this.
Thank you,
Jim Nielsen
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