iPads take off in schools

There can be little doubt at the potential success of iPads as a mainstream device in classrooms given the significant take-up in schools in less than a year from its launch. In Adelaide, for example, half a dozen schools introduced large-scale programs of iPads. St Peters College has one for each Year 11 and 12 student, with a main focus on using them as a text book reader. Rostrevor College for all Yr 11 and 12s, Pulteney Grammar School for all Year 8 and 9s and Mark Olifant College for yearly childhood students. At Adelaide University, all first year Science students were provided with and iPad. In the Northern Territory iPads are being introduced in a number of schools and in particular for indigenous students.

For a new type of device to have such immediate penetration of the very conservative school environment suggest that there is something significant going on. The speed of the take-up has taken many by surprise, not the least being the considerable band of iPad sceptics, most of whom looked at the cut-down nature of tablet capabilities, compared to a laptop, or even a netbook, and said, "Not enough." The shortcomings of an iPad still exist (but are shrinking) but what the critics need to pay attention to are the advantages of a tablet, and the iPad in particular. I think the most relevant of these are:
1. portability
2. compact size,
3. battery life
4. eReader
5. simple operation
6. integration with iTunes and iPhone

No 5, simple operation might be the most significant of these. When an 80 year old relative who has never operated a computer was intuitively scrolling through an image gallery on my iPad, I took notice.

Written on an iPad using Blogpress

One-to-one backup salvation

A number of schools that are providing Apple notebooks for individual students are using automatic backups to make radical changes to how they manage one-to-one computing.

The students are provided with a backup hard drive that stays at home. They are required to use the Time Machine software to automatically backup the entire computer on a regular basis - possibly daily. Time Machine saves everything - settings, files, profiles etc. The Time Machine name comes from the fact that the hard drive saves each backup in series until it runs out of space. So a typical student may have 5 or 10 or more backups according to date. So if a computer is having problems, is lost or damaged, it (or a replacement) can be connected to Time Machine and restore to the latest or whichever backup version is desired. (If the problem appears to be caused by some new software, for example, go back to the backup prior to the software being installed). Everything is re-installed, so the only cost to the student is the hour or so that the restoration takes. There are backup systems available for PCs, so this is not just an Apple opportunity. The major issue here for a school is not technical but attitudinal.

The implications are very significant.

Maintenance: technical support demands can be reduced. Rather than tech staff needing to spend long hours trying to detect a claimed fault in a computer, the student can simply be advised to restore the problem computer from the backup. The storage and backup responsibilities of the school are greatly reduced.

Student Responsibility: The system places the student firmly in control of their own computer, just as they are currently responsible for their own paper based aids. This is highly desirable if students are to become responsible student and adult computer users. An important implication of this system is that students must have administration rights to their computer. Some schools find this threatening. Others, who have tried it, do not, because they prefer to deal with misbehaving students individually rather than constrain and limit what all students can to. A major benefit of this open approach is that a significant number of students will explore new software and potential of their computer, and pass this knowledge back to the school for the benefit of all. Parents who understand the procedures and responsibilities are generally very supportive.

The savings in unnecessary school computer administration are very significant.