Just sayin'

Okay, I don't want to start a fight!

But I am going to draw an Apple / Microsoft comparison here so if you're the sort of person who's head is likely to explode as a result, taking this post down the same road as these guys, then look away now!

Microsoft have started producing some ads that compare Windows 8 tablets to the iPad.  Some of the ads are a little tongue-in-cheek, and some are bizarre (unless there's a cultural thing I don't get).  But this simple one actually cuts through to a couple of truths that speak to why we and our teachers couldn't bring ourselves to adopt the iPad as a platform.  There's more to it than just these few features (it's quite a complex issue actually).  But these are some of the things people struggle with initially when considering an iPad anywhere where they might need to do work, and these are some of the stumbling blocks our iPad trial kept on hitting.  So, here it is, make of it what you will:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/zgu9uo2UpPg]

... Oh, and there's a third side to this comparison, which is Android tablets.  That's another similarly complicated thing altogether.  All I'll say on that is, always remember it's at least a three-horse race! ;)

Lies and Damn Lies Not Included

Recently, we've been gathering some information on the progress of our BYOD program, which reminded me of some research we did last year when planning for our 1:1 program.

We'd been keen to know what other schools were planning for their computing fleet, particularly given the recent changes to the I.T. landscape (I'm speaking specifically of the iPad, Android and touch-enabled devices).  Using connections I had with networks of I.T. Managers and E-Learning people I put together a survey.  The survey was constructed with the intention of finding out what the future computing device plans were for schools in general.  It received over 100 replies and helped dispel a few myths that were emanating throughout our College and other's.  Below are the pretty graphical results of that survey, with my take on what the statistics (lies, damn lies not included) mean.  I figure 15 years experience with Education I.T. puts me in a good place to interpret the responses:

[caption id="attachment_267" align="aligncenter" width="604"] This represents the way things are now. The Windows platform accounts for the large majority, but that’s less than the 90% or so it accounts for outside of education.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_268" align="aligncenter" width="549"] Schools were asked whether they intended to change from their answer in the previous question. Interestingly, over half of schools have no plans to move away from what they’re doing now.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_269" align="aligncenter" width="547"] Here we see what those changing are switching to. Investigating multiple platforms or just Windows 8 seems to be the theme. Note the interest in BYOD.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_270" align="aligncenter" width="548"] This essentially combines those two situations in the previous graph.  It shows all responses that indicate a change to one platform, or multiple including that platform. Note again, the BYOD.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_271" align="aligncenter" width="604"] Most of the schools changing are doing it on what they consider to be a large scale, few seem to be small-scale changes.  This gives the data on proposed changes more credibility.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_273" align="aligncenter" width="545"] This shows which grade-groups schools are targeting with the change in their fleet.
Very few primary-only schools responded, so they aren’t well represented here.
This probably indicates that most schools are changing school-wide (note middle-school grades weren't an option, this may have yielded more information).[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_274" align="aligncenter" width="546"] No surprises here, this may just mimic the wider installed base of systems. It may also indicate those involved in laptop computing on more mature platforms seeing little need to change.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_266" align="aligncenter" width="545"] NSW respondents number the highest, with Tasmania well represented.
Many thanks to the TISIT and MITIE forums for providing the responses.[/caption]

To sum up.  The information gathered shows few schools diverging massively from what they were doing before.  This is apparent when you take into account that most moving to Windows 8 are probably using a previous Windows already, which is more of a logical upgrade path than a sweeping change.  Schools changing to iOS aren't nearly as widespread as some may have thought and poor old Linux an Android lag behind the rest.  With respect to the latter, that story is far from over, particularly if Google can sort out a few interoperability issues.  Time will tell.

I hope you found this as interesting as I did.

Pre-Christmas Update

Well, a little while has passed since my last update and a fair amount has happened.  So much so that it's hard to detail it all here.  For that reason I'm going to dot-point list the goings-on for the last month and a half.

- it turns out Dell salespeople wouldn't know an active stylus from an active volcano

• The big news is that we've chosen the Dell XPS-12 as our staff computer for 2013.  Samsung couldn't produce a decent machine in time (or at all) and all the other options were either problematic in some way or just plain awful.  It turns our however that there is no support for an active stylus with this machine, so we're going to have to go without or use a capacitive stylus (it turns out Dell salespeople wouldn't know an active stylus from an active volcano anyway).  A shame, but not the end of the world.  The upside is that the XPS-12 is a really nice piece of kit, it's very fast, light and small.  Our teachers seemed quite impressed with it when we demoed it to them.  So we're quietly confident that we've chosen the right device considering the options.  Now we just have to get them delivered on time and get the staff used to Windows 8!


• We'd already decided we weren't interested in the Dell XT3, but it's worth noting here that Dell shipped us a demo that was not only heavily used, but broken.  It was also an awful clunky looking machine.  It's probably best if they don't keep that line going.


• We've been in communication with our parents about the plans to run two new programs next year.  Year 11's and 12's will need to supply their own computer next year, and year 7's will have a hybrid Windows 8 tablet supplied to them.  Parents of 11 and 12 students have been told they can supply a range of devices, basically anything that's a computer or a 10" and above tablet.  We'll set them up with network access at the beginning of the year, as well as some other tips and information.


• Our iPad group will continue into 2013.  I mention this because it's relevant as I was recently accused of being anti-iPad by an influential individual associated with the school.  I find this interesting because we run an iPad program with one particular group of students, and it was my interest in the iPad that got it going in the first place (I have two iPads myself).  Rather than unsettling that group by making changes, they'll keep plugging away with their iPads into next year.  The program was a trial, and it hasn't exactly set the world on fire, but it's not terrible either.  I quite like the idea of a multi-platform approach, as long as it doesn't put to much strain on the teachers or the I.T. Department.


• Finally, after much in the way of shenanigans, we've decided on a new Learning Management System (LMS).  Originally the decision was made to delay this decision until sometime in the future, however after coming to their senses the College leadership went with the recommendation of their 1:1 Working Party (or sub-group thereof) to implement the Scholaris LMS.  This is a widely used platform run on Sharepoint which can integrate well with our existing student data systems, making it something of a logical choice.  The Working Party went to great lengths to assess varying LMS options, create a comparison matrix of features and justify their preferences.  I'm quite glad that the recommendation was taken onboard, I only wish it had been immediate, rather than second-guessing the skilled and experienced people who arrived at said recommendation.

I think that's it, now it's off for a nice and hopefully relaxing Christmas break.  I say hopefully relaxing, because with the usual workload plus a 1:1 program, BYOD program, staff tablet rollout and a new LMS 2013 is going to be a HUGE year.