[windows tablet] Surface Pro4 for students

[Gaz]

We are looking for a wireless device to issue to students for their college day (they won't be taken home) It has been suggested that we use Microsoft Surface Pro4 tablets (with keyboard). I have got one on trial but I have my reservations as to whether it will be robust enough for student use.

 

Has anyone gone down the tablet route?

[Gaz]

Anyone? Are most schools using ipads or something?

[Achandler]

I think @Iain.Faulkner has Surface 3 with students. The Pro 4 are definitely built better, whether students would look after them well enough I couldn't tell you. It depends on your school and your pupils.

 

The Surfaces are as robust as iPads though.

[Gaz]

We're not a school, but a college/training academy with students from 16 to adult, however their age doesn't mean they won't mis-treat the devices whether maliciously or not. I like the idea of everyone using the tablets, if a little small but I can't help but think that a laptop would be more robust if a little heavier.

 

I think I'm just thinking out loud.

[Achandler]

I know where Iain works has a 6th form, whether or not they have Surfaces in there I couldn't tell you.

 

The real question is, whats the benefit of using the tablet versus the laptop. If there isn't essentially any, they a laptop will probably be best. We are looking at Surface Pro 4 for teachers, because we want them to walk around the room with it, "write" on the screen etc, whether a tablet trumps a laptop.

[Gaz]

Yeah that sounds like the same idea management have for the new building. They want it to be all and I quote "space age" At the moment the students are assigned a classroom and the teachers move about. Thats going to change in the new building and the teachers will be assigned a classroom and the students will move about. We wont have any dedicated IT rooms apart from 3 CAD rooms so the idea is that all the classrooms will effectively be computer rooms with it all running off wireless.

So they wanted a portable device that small and light and has the ability to be a tablet but the last part isn't critical. I'm thinking of some sort of Ultrabook as an alternative.

 

There was also talks of enforcing a policy that if a student breaks a laptop they pay for it. I'm not sure how enforceable that is.

[Iain.Faulkner]

I think @Iain.Faulkner has Surface 3 with students. The Pro 4 are definitely built better, whether students would look after them well enough I couldn't tell you. It depends on your school and your pupils.

 

The Surfaces are as robust as iPads though.

 

Hi,

 

We've just deployed Surface 3's to our teaching staff but don't, currently, give any devices to students. Agreed with @Achandler that the Surface Pro 4's are definitely built better, but the Surface 3's (from my experience so far) are decent value in comparison to the Pro 4's. Again, just to echo AChandler, I would say they are similar in robustness to an ipad.

 

We are currently in the process of configuring a set of these for some of the students in our learning support department. Definitely cheap and cheerful, but adequate for basic use.

 

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