Hopefully you all know that iPads and laptops are two completely different spaces.
Although there is some significant overlap in key areas such as media consumption on the internet, e-reading, social media, and even light word processing, in most cases the two classes of devices, in my opinion, should be viewed as totally different tools designed for completely different tasks.
Although many schools are reverse-engineering tech integrations (and a few are even doing post-mortems) it sounds like some tech directors have found themselves ahead of the curve (which you are as long as you can still provide viable input into the nature and trajectory of the rollout). So I hope they take advantage of it and discuss with their teachers the potential benefits and drawbacks of all devices under consideration. But they also must read between the lines of the teachers’ wants and dreams and apply their wisdom according to their needs, not necessarily your own as the tech director.
I’m often quick to say if I could only have one technology device, it would be my 11” MacBook Air. Hands down. No questions asked. Period. End of story. But that is because a significant amount of my work involves traditional office utility applications, email., digital video and uncompromised access into State computing systems. However, if I were to truly integrate a piece of tech into the curriculum, or across a handful of curriculums, I might find that a laptop will encourage mundane or traditional educational outcomes. Or worse, just become a redundancy that’s mobile.
The iPad, when used effectively, can cause a change in the educational outcomes; a good one if used effectively, and a negative one if the iPad is forced into a laptop role. If your heart is set on traditional I/O computing, then nothing but a traditional computer will work. But if you are considering venturing outside the world of word-processing, presentations building, spreadsheets, website construction, code writing, and desktop publishing etc. then the iPad has tremendous merit.
As far as security, it is not just schools looking to harden the devices. In fact, collectively they are rather late on the scene. Tri-letter agencies like the NSA have guidelines for many OSs including iOS. Oddly, I don’t see any of the many flavors of Android listed, and as expected, Windows makes up the bulk of the spots on the list.
I think enough of the dust has settled on the tablet space to make informed decisions about their role in education, all grounded in realistic expectations of performance and impact. That also means we can be frank about the device and speak ill of it when it fails to function as advertised. I tried to express these feelings in words, which ended up in an essay, that ended up in a blog contest. The content of my contest blog post is my passionate plea for the perfect tablet for education, and is presented a blog post here titled "Great Technology Melts In Your Hands."
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