For my first post of the new year, I want to approach a topic that has galled me throughout the past year.
The introduction of the iPad in 2010 was heralded as a new paradigm that would change mobile computing for good. Among the champions of this new device were many educators, some of whom I like and respect, who praised the form factor and immediately saw the value as an ideal classroom device. One cannot deny the appeal of an intuitive classroom tool providing resources and connectivity at the seat of every child. The elimination of heavy and expensive textbooks alone will have financial (and health) benefits for students and schools. Even recognizing the well-documented limitations of the device (no camera, no USB ports, no HDMI port, no Flash, no multi-tasking), it is easy to assume that this is a solid educational platform which will clearly improve over time (it is generally anticipated that an iPad 2 will be announced early this year). Sales figures indicate public acceptance for this new machine beyond what was anticipated. As an advocate for 1:1 programs, I should be thrilled by this.
Then why am I so irritated?
Anyone who has followed my writing through the past years (or spoken to me for more than five minutes) knows that I have long been a proponent of the netbook as a classroom device. From my first 7″ ASUS running Linux I saw the potential for low-cost, small form-factor, long battery life devices as the answer to the main hurdles to 1:1 programs. As these machines improved in size, processing speed, and battery life, I became more convinced that we were approaching a netbook world, and growth of cloud-based services indicated that a mobile device did not have to be completely self-contained, and students could start projects at school and easily complete them on a larger, more powerful home system.
However, speaking to salespeople, reading tech blogs, and following education literature, I am becoming convinced that this is not the direction that the world will take. The heat of netbooks has long cooled, and all companies talk about are competing products to the iPad. To some extent, this was a business inevitability. The margins on netbooks are so small, that there is little motivation for companies to support the platform. Now that the iPad has redefined the price point from $500 – $800, it doesn’t make much business sense to push the $300 product. This is coupled with the “coolness factor” of the iPad. As much as we would like to be purists about this, part of an effective 1:1 program is salesmanship, and when parents, schools, and districts are asked to fund technology purchases they see the iPad as cutting edge and the netbook as dated and boring.
So is it sour grapes (or sour apples) that makes me so resistant? Am I becoming a curmudgeon, a DOS user, mocking the “soft” Windows users as I sink into the primordial ooze? Maybe. Perhaps I don’t have the vision and imagination to see how this is a superior path.
But…Someone has to tell me
- How are we not getting less for more, a machine with dramatic limitations for nearly twice the cost?
- How are students going to write at any length with a flat keyboard that takes up a good portion of the screen space?
- How is a student going to show her or his presentation without retrofitting classroom projectors?
- How will this device eliminate the need for computer labs, when traditional computers are still needed for so many functions?
Finally, I’m irritated by the fact that a split market slows progress. I know several schools who were on the verge of embracing a laptop/netbook program who have put these plans on hold in fear of backing a losing platform.
Again, I may be wrong here (and if things indeed do go the iPad path, it doesn’t matter if I’m wrong or right). I admire the iPad (though I have only played with it in a BestBuy), and I would love to have one…in my case right beside my netbook!
As always, I invite your comments.