LearnPad = very impressed.

[edutech4schools]

Downloaded the trial version of LearnPad today learnpad.co/ and installed on to my Android tablet. It does way more than I expected and finally gives me a locked down tablet to put in primary schools. You can control all the tablets either from the website or by scanning a bar code which makes it flexible and you can create and deploy a profile / desktop based on a subject or keystage in no time. For example I had a profile based on ancient Egyptians and then within seconds had turned the tablet in to a device aimed at SEN.

 

They also have a large app store with plenty of free educational apps that can be deployed to all devices with a click.

 

Not much more I can say apart from WOW.

 

NB - Why no tablet forum on this site or did I not look properly.

Edited March 6, 2013 by ZeroHour

[jmak]

NB - Why no tablet forum on this site or did I not look properly.

 

Probably time to rename the "netbooks, PDAs and Phones" forum, which says "Post all your iPad, tablet, netbook and phone questions here."

 

On a more interesting note what tablet are you running the Learnpad profile on? And have you managed to find out how much it costs standalone? I had a play with some of their own tablets at BETT and they were OK, but I thought that the hardware wasn't as good as the best Android tablets.

 

Edit: should have said that I thought the system was great!

Edited March 5, 2013 by jmak
Didn't look as positive as I'd intended

[twin--turbo]

We have 4 Toshiba At300's on trial with learnpad accounts.

 

It's probably the most promising thing we have seen so far.

 

Rob

[zag]

No iPad support

[Max_Power]

Had learnpads for a number of years, I believe we were one of the first to get them, so we have seen the company and product go from strength to strength.

 

They have recently joined forces with Toshiba which makes the hardware a little better.

 

Great for being locked down and updating and they generally really do just work.

 

However.... we have a class set of learnpads and a significant number of ipads. Staff and students are still drawn towards the ipad, and with the ipad and its apps being more widely advertised the learnpads do often get over looked.

[edutech4schools]

what tablet are you running the Learnpad profile on?

I tested it on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. I will need to trial a device from the company as I would rather pay more for something that is going to work.

 

And have you managed to find out how much it costs standalone?

not yet

 

However.... we have a class set of learnpads and a significant number of ipads. Staff and students are still drawn towards the ipad, and with the ipad and its apps being more widely advertised the learnpads do often get over looked.

 

Thanks for the info, are you primary or secondary? The primary schools I look after are only just thinking about getting tablets.

[Jon]

However.... we have a class set of learnpads and a significant number of ipads. Staff and students are still drawn towards the ipad, and with the ipad and its apps being more widely advertised the learnpads do often get over looked.

 

What tablet are you running LearnPad on ... Are you using learnpads own tablets or an alternative 3rd party one.

[edutech4schools]

Went to visit a primary school that have been using LearnPads for about 6 Months and the feedback I got from them was outstanding. They really love them and use them constantly.

[rednight]

Hi there,

 

Is anyone else out there using Learnpads at the moment? I have been asked to get some impartial reviews.

 

Thanks!

[twin--turbo]

Our bigest problem is getting Apps that are not within learnpad, you break Googles useage policy if you don't get tehm via PLAY or get direct authorisation from the author.

 

And the delivery of the lessons to the device sometimes is a bit random.

 

We have Toshiba in next wednesday to review them.

 

Rob

[pooley]

We just ask Learnpad to put the apps on for us and invoice us. they do all the leg work with the author and licensing.

 

Our bigest problem is getting Apps that are not within learnpad, you break Googles useage policy if you don't get tehm via PLAY or get direct authorisation from the author.

 

And the delivery of the lessons to the device sometimes is a bit random.

 

We have Toshiba in next wednesday to review them.

 

Rob

[edutech4schools]

We just ask Learnpad to put the apps on for us and invoice us. they do all the leg work with the author and licensing.

 

That makes them much more appealing. I was wondering about that issue myself.

[rednight]

Our bigest problem is getting Apps that are not within learnpad, you break Googles useage policy if you don't get tehm via PLAY or get direct authorisation from the author.

 

And the delivery of the lessons to the device sometimes is a bit random.

 

We have Toshiba in next wednesday to review them.

 

Rob

 

Thanks for your info. How long have you had the Learnpads? Which one did you go for? Is the issue with the lesson delivery a connectivity problem, or a hardware one?

 

I have read some reviews which say that the Learnpads themselves are underpowered and can be sluggish - is this something you have experienced?

 

I am just trying to gather as much information as I can, as we haven't seen these in action and the company no longer provides demo units - so if we go ahead with a purchase I want to make sure we are doing the right thing!!

 

Thanks

[pooley]

We have the original Learnpad 1 units which work fine, the kids and staff have not come to me and said anything about them being slow and unresponsive. We are just looking into buying another 60 of the latest versions, which are faster and have more functionality.

 

From a management point of view they are all controllable, lockable, remote installation of apps from the web, the devices "poll" the learnpad server every 30 mins or so to check for any new apps or configuration changes or you can "push" apps to them.

 

The guys at learnpad have been great at keeping in touch and are at the end of the phone for any support. We have had just 1 unit fail in 18 months and it just needed re-flashing.

 

The only downside over the iPad is we can't find an iMovie alternative in the Google play store - yet.

[rednight]

We have the original Learnpad 1 units which work fine, the kids and staff have not come to me and said anything about them being slow and unresponsive. We are just looking into buying another 60 of the latest versions, which are faster and have more functionality.

 

From a management point of view they are all controllable, lockable, remote installation of apps from the web, the devices "poll" the learnpad server every 30 mins or so to check for any new apps or configuration changes or you can "push" apps to them.

 

The guys at learnpad have been great at keeping in touch and are at the end of the phone for any support. We have had just 1 unit fail in 18 months and it just needed re-flashing.

 

The only downside over the iPad is we can't find an iMovie alternative in the Google play store - yet.

 

Sounds great!

 

Did you purchase the additional Classview software that goes with it?

[twin--turbo]

I will point this thread out to the Toshiba Rep next week. Our loan units have gone back.

 

I think with a bit more input it could easily be the best product arround ( in fact it probably is already ) with a few tweaks.

 

Rob

[TechSupp]

We have 30 of the v2 tablets bought last year however I am now getting complains of poor connections etc. does anyone on here who has these tablets also have Ruckus? As far as I can see and check out with speed tests the Ruckus is working fine so thinking that its just poor WIFI on the tablets? Going to get the Ruckus updated to the latest version just to makes sure no issues. What do others think of the hardware, I know the software is a great idea.

[nutso]

Actually we just received a LearnPad on trial (I think it is a v2, I'm not sure) and the wireless performance is pretty bad on our Ruckus system. Were you able to find an answer, TechSupp?

[TechSupp]

No sorry,it seems its not so much the wifi of the tablet (although I think this is a contributing factor) but the spec of the tablet itself. Its just a slow system. Have spoken to them and they acknowledge this but you get what you pay for, cant expect a ferrari for the price of a mini really. Its all very well, but in hindsight if we had our time again I would probably still get LearnPad but not get as many and buy better tablets such as the Toshiba that works with it due to the performance.

[edutech4schools]

but in hindsight if we had our time again I would probably still get LearnPad but not get as many and buy better tablets such as the Toshiba that works with it due to the performance.

 

Is that from learnpad or buying Toshiba from another source and then putting learnPad on them? (Just been asked to look at these for another school)

[TechSupp]

Yes would probably get best deal on a Toshiba and then buy LearnPad as a add on for content and management, however....when talking to LearnPad they were just looking at some higher power/spec tablets but it's all about cost, depends if they can keep cost down on them. So you have to make a choice and as said with hindsight I would have bought less but higher spec and then bought content as all I get at moment is complaints! Reason I suggested Toshiba is purely that I know they have worked with LearnPad to make sure the tablets are compatitable. I think you can put it on other android tablets but you would need to check with LearnPad.

[nutso]

Thanks for the feedback on this! I do like the interface on the learnpad and it would be a shame to have to write it off because of the hardware. I'll see about getting the Toshiba hardware if we go ahead with anything.

[SamDickerson]

Only problem with using 3rd party tablets (unless Toshiba) is that classview will not work. This is because it requires root access to the system partition, and the only ways to do this are:

 

Root the tablet

Install Learnpad in system partition

Or a custom install image

 

We're currently trying to get it work on a Fujitsu M532 tablet and we're working on a solution to the classview issue. Tried the standard learnpad tablets and do not go for them, go with Toshiba or another well known brand. The cheap tablets overheated, had a poor wireless connection and were very slow.

 

Learnpad is by far the best management tool for using android devices in education though, very promising!

[fabro]

We purchased 18 devices from them in a bundle because we loved the portal. As with other brands we have, we expected the same quality and did not purchase accidental damage or extended warranty. the device were not put into the classroom before 6 month after purchase ( summer break, training.. etc) a little than a year after purchase, 3 of them have a broken screen even though we purchased the protection case and half of them have lose mini jack that prevent using headset which is a real drag in a classroom. All the company could do for us is to refer us to a repair shop and give us nothing but a sorry to help finance the repairs. And they dare admin that this first generation of their product is not as tough as the new one which they advice we purchase..Stay away from this Learnpad company. And the tech support is a nightmare, I have been trying to get help for over 4 month on this.

[pooley]

Shame your having issues with your learnpads. UK support is awesome but I do believe the us company is now stand alone from the UK.

 

Drop UK support a line and see if they can suggest something. They are good guys n gals.