Boy, is THIS off-topic! Tablets...

[Pilgrim]

Here's a blog I wrote for my unit, Colorado State University OnlinePlus.  I know that members here play with all kinds of technologies, so if any of you are thinking of getting an iPad or Xoom for classes, I thought it might be of interest...

Tablet Technology in Online Learning

It's a candy mint! No, it's a breath mint! No, it's two mints in one!

It's an entertainment toy! No, it's a learning tool! No, it's two tools in one!!

Many of today's tablet devices are stuck in the same "part this, part that" position as the old mint commercial. They're not as powerful as laptops, or even netbooks, their closest computing relatives. But, they do so much, and they come so close to the functions of a portable PC or Mac, that they are emerging as an important new category of technology in distance education.

The Learning Technologies staff at OnlinePlus is very interested in how functional tablets are for distance education, so we've been testing an iPad2 and a Motorola Xoom for a month. Of course, there are plenty of other tablets on the market in various sizes, capabilities and operating systems. Here are some things to watch for if you're in the market:

-Does it have an operating system that suits your need?
-Can you install operating system updates? (Not always true with low-end tablets)
-Are there available apps that fit your needs?
-Is there enough memory (or memory slots) to hold the files you need?
-Is it Wi-Fi (wireless), 3G (cell technology), or both?
-What is its reputation for dependability?

Fortunately for all of us, there are plenty of online review sites. In just a few minutes, using any search engine, you can learn a lot about a tablet by doing a web search for reviews. Let's say I am considering the Acme X1 tablet; all I need to do is open a browser window and in the search field type "Acme X1 reviews." The results will most likely tell me all I need to know.

There are also many websites that provide comparisons of tablets. Once again, use a search engine and type in "tablet comparisons" or "tablet buying guides." The results will keep you busy for a while.

You may not feel prepared to read these reviews and make a decision, but rest assured, it's not rocket science. You can learn a lot just by reading multiple reviews and looking for the items that more than one reviewer emphasizes. By reading more than one review, you will quickly figure out what the reviewers think is important, and you'll learn things about every tablet that the manufacturer doesn't tell you.

With the higher-end tablets like the iPad and the Xoom, there's enough computing power and storage to run most tablet-based programs you will use, although you're not going to be storing many large files. The iPad comes with up to 64 GB memory, and the Xoom tops out at 32 GB. Neither comes close to matching the storage on the hard drive of a basic $200 netbook, as most of them store more than 150 GB. That tells you right away that you're not going to store a semester's worth of files on your tablet, so you need to be smart about moving and storing files. Also, the processors in tablets are well-suited for web browsing and email, but most are 1 GHz in speed, which is about half the speed of a contemporary laptop, and about 60% as fast as a common netbook.

Apps are critically important to make tablets meet your needs. Some schools are building apps specifically for iPad or, less often, Android tablets. That's a big plus if you plan on getting a tablet and want to get the most use out of it. Two critical apps are Flash and Silverlight; if your school uses online video, there's a good chance that one or both of these are involved. Apple has made it clear that Flash is not going to be enabled on the iPad, and you'll have to wait for the new version of HTML (web coding language), which is supposed to play Flash files automatically. The Xoom is an Android tablet, and there are free Flash apps that work very well on it, but there are no Silverlight apps yet. There are third parties working on Silverlight apps, but none are on the market today.

However, neither application is absolutely necessary for normal use. Popular sites such as YouTube don't use Flash or Silverlight, and video files on YouTube work very well. If your school puts video materials on YouTube, you're not going to have problems playing them with most tablets, although you may need to download one or more free video apps.

Other important tablet uses for students are email and note-taking. Email is probably the easiest thing to do; it's well sorted out, and tablets allow you to set up multiple accounts. Note-taking is easy as well, although you may find that typing on the tablet screen lacks physical feedback and leads to a lot of typos. Also, not all free note-taking apps are dependable; as part of OnlinePlus testing, we had to pay a few bucks to get a solid word processing app for Android.

If you're taking online courses and need to do mostly web browsing, email and communication tasks, tablets are quite capable of meeting your needs. If you want to get into more demanding uses such as extensive viewing of video in proprietary formats, then a laptop, netbook or desktop is a better bet.

Based on testing by Learning Technologies staff, what do we think? We think that tablets are still a little better suited for entertainment than for education. They handle web-surfing, note-taking and communication like email just fine, so they're a good option for daytime portable use. However, you still need a desktop or laptop for the processing and memory intensive programs and assignments. Tablets are portable, light, easy-to-carry devices, but they're not ready to be your primary computer - yet. That's probably a couple of years away.

~ Al Powell, Director of Learning Technologies, OnlinePlus

[Dave W]

It's easy to see the appeal of tablets. I can't see them ever becoming primary computers.

[Pilgrim]

Not - quite - yet....

But with the stampede to mobile devices and the size of a 10" screen, as they increase processor speed and build in more drive/memory space, I think plenty of younger folks will be using them as at least a primary portable device.  My mental construct is that I still need a robust laptop or desktop as a primary computer, and the tablet will be a satellite piece.  Today they're great for entertainment - I wouldn't be surprised if within 18-24 months they take a big slice out of the laptop market.

Which is odd - because they cost more than a laptop.  Their big advantages are lighter weight, more compact size and faster boot-up.  And, I suppose, the app stores that provide many free options and some really inexpensive options for word processing and similar tasks.

[Highlander]

I have enough problems typing on this...

Everyone is getting drawn into this idea of "cloud" technology - biggest con since governments started printing paper and calling it "money"...

Shades of the Emperors New Clothes...

[Psycho Bass Guy]

I just upgraded my cell phone for the second time to a smart phone (Droid Charge); the first was when cell went digital and I had to give up my old dinosaur that still sounds worlds better than anything but my corded home line. The wifi option and data streaming is great. With my bluetooth stereo headphones at work, I can ignore the daily drama completely. I'm still figuring it out, but as much as this analog luddite hates to admit it, I love my new phone. Tablets and laptops will eventually become one and the same, and desktops will be the esoteric province of gamers and audio/video tweakers. TV's are pretty much just computers themselves nowadays. My HDMI input even talks to my new phone, which shoots pictures at a resolution equal to my SLR which cost double what my phone did when I bought it new five years ago.

...when all that shit can last longer than ten years and still work, THEN I'll be impressed.  

[Dave W]

Primary satellite device? Could be. I still think desktops will still be the mainstay for people who do more than just surf.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

I still think desktops will still be the mainstay for people who do more than just surf.

Exactly, but how many other people truly use a desktop for anything other than surfing and data storage (pics, music, video)?

[Dave W]

Hard to say. I just think that people who spend any amount of time writing, researching, studying etc. would rather have a full size keyboard and screen.

[Pilgrim]

I agree with Dave and PBG....I think that the great popularity of smart phones indicates that most people use computers mostly for web surfing, email, social media and picture-taking, with a bit of texting thrown in.

IMO anyone with a more substantial use pattern needs a keyboard of some type and a bit more screen territory to operate on.

However, I have taken a Xoom tablet to my last two professional meetings and found it sufficient for note-taking, email and a bit of web sufing.  I did wait until I got back to the office to respond to emails that required substantial typing, copying and pasting.

[Lightyear]

I am hard wired at work with technology all day - laptop and Blackberry.  I literally can do nothing without the laptop - all of my documention and lots of applications that must be used.  The phone never stops going off - either email, texts, notifications or phone calls.  When I get a one hour stretch when the phone is silent I'm truly at peace.  Don't get me wrong I love technology - it's how I earn a living, but too much is just a pain in the ass.  Case in point my Blackberry is on about 11 hours a day and my employer pays for it and I can and do use it for personal business however, the drawback is that if I have it on after hours, weekends, vacation etc I get sucked into work.  So I added another phone to my wife and daughter's plan - a very basic, dumb, flip phone - suits my needs and is very small.  I threaten to go offgrid from time to time and retire to the end of earth - I know i wouldn't last a week unwired but I can dream can't I?

And tablets, I hear noise that I may be getting one of those or maybe some hybrid smart phone/tablet type thing. 

[Aussie Mark]

My Blackberry is my nerve centre.  It has my work, personal and band calendars on it, I receive work, personal and band emails on it, and it has all the mp3s on it that I need for the bands I play in, plus charts, logos, promo material etc.  Not to mention all the phone numbers and email addresses for my work, personal and band contacts.  It's pretty cool, compared to how we used to do this stuff in the old days.  This year, more than 1/3 of our gigs have come from internet bookings, with no agents involved.

[Darrol]

...when all that shit can last longer than ten years and still work, THEN I'll be impressed.  

I have kept my original desktop working for over 8 years. It still runs although not as well as computers these days but I have replaced the HDD, PSU and GPU. I did replace it last December as I needed something with some power to handle the visual effects and animation work that I am learning now and will be doing in the future. It also helps talk my way into working from home on animatics as I can get the shots done faster with the extra rendering power.

I have considered getting an iPad but my problem is that I can't find a reason to have one other than to just have one. If I had something like a netbook or a cheap laptop, I would end up getting frustrated because I need something that has power to it.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

I have kept my original desktop working for over 8 years. It still runs although not as well as computers these days but I have replaced the HDD, PSU and GPU. I did replace it last December as I needed something with some power to handle the visual effects and animation work that I am learning now and will be doing in the future. It also helps talk my way into working from home on animatics as I can get the shots done faster with the extra rendering power.

You missed my point. Desktops are easily upgradable, portables, not so much. I have a nearly 15 year old machine (AMD K6-2 400 mHz processor with a 20 gig drive and 256 mb of RAM) that runs just fine.

[nofi]

http://webhome.idirect.com/~totton/abacus/Photos/

[Highlander]

IMO anyone with a more substantial use pattern needs a keyboard of some type and a bit more screen territory to operate on.

Guilty as charged, m'Lud...