gpe5732 Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 I don't think the IT Industry expects you to use touch/voice devices to create information. They're media consumption devices, they've long been considered that, and that's what they are. You can do light creation with them, sure, but nobody wants to write a novel on a smartphone.
dhicks Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 So, why is everyone so obsessed with touchscreens, tablets and related tech? We're still at the develop-a-bunch-of-stuff-and-see-what-people-use stage of technology development - the computational power available to the individual user still increases significantly every year, and if people have the hardware available it only takes someone to write some software to make a new idea/way of working available to everyone. Speech recognition is the kind of thing that might well benifit from GPU-style massivly-parrallel computation, so it could well get much better quality in the near future. You're possibly right that speech might never be the best tool for writing a 20-page report, and the workers of the future might well simply never get around to writing 20-page reports, which might really be a good thing.
PiqueABoo Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Touchscreens, tablets, smart phones etc... are all great for one thing - consumption of information. That's my line. The current trend, with a lot of naked school one-upmanship involved, really doesn't fit well with "ICT out, Computing in".
GrumbleDook Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Tablet ... bluetooth connection for keyboard when needed ... report writing, note taking, presentations, annotating documents ... the only thing I don't really have is a decent spreadsheet tool as most of the spreadsheets I deal with are *large* excel files and I need a dirty great big screen to manipulate them well. I still have a laptop for some things ... and it doubles as a desktop at work (plugged into larger screen, etc) and the tablet goes with me to meetings for documents and note taking. Voice ... doesn't work for me that well, but that is partly because I am now in an open plan office at work and share the office at home. I do a fair bit of voice memo taking whilst on the road though ... but that just might be because I like the sound of my own voice. (get it in first before others do!)
localzuk Posted March 16, 2012 Author Posted March 16, 2012 OK. So, people are basically just confirming exactly what I said - these devices are great for their limited purposes, but for any real work (which is what businesses *do*) we all desire a normal keyboard and mouse. So, why are schools willing to spend so much budget on these things? They can't replace the existing devices, they can only compliment them. Where are schools suddenly finding the funds to be able to augment their provision like this? Especially considering the fact that so many schools are still using machines that are 5 years old etc... Basically, I think my point is this - these devices are a nice toy. They add little bits of functionality to ease the consumption of information. But they are still a toy. Focusing effort and funding on their use in education seems to be missing the point about the constraints of school funding.
PiqueABoo Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Where are schools suddenly finding the funds to be able to augment their provision like this? Especially considering the fact that so many schools are still using machines that are 5 years old etc... Was in a Primary school a few weeks ago.. their curriculum system is in an **extremely dire** state and they've known and have been reminded about that for a long time... but instead of getting on fixing that they have bought expensive "class ipads for the children".. only the kids aren't likely to see them much because they had very obviously and very quickly turned into teacher's personal kit that goes home and doesn't always come back.. all for net surfing + (stupidly expensive) note taking at a very occasional meeting. Wish that were a rare exception but it's not. I'm just gobsmacked, appalled, by the rise of ethically impoverished attitudes in folk in whom you trust with your kids. Funding isn't the only thing they're missing the point about...
mthomas08 Posted March 19, 2012 Posted March 19, 2012 Was in a Primary school a few weeks ago.. their curriculum system is in an **extremely dire** state and they've known and have been reminded about that for a long time... but instead of getting on fixing that they have bought expensive "class ipads for the children".. only the kids aren't likely to see them much because they had very obviously and very quickly turned into teacher's personal kit that goes home and doesn't always come back.. all for net surfing + (stupidly expensive) note taking at a very occasional meeting. Wish that were a rare exception but it's not. I'm just gobsmacked, appalled, by the rise of ethically impoverished attitudes in folk in whom you trust with your kids. Funding isn't the only thing they're missing the point about... Sadly its moments like this that cause the Anti Apple(Fancy gadget) war. Especially in a time when School budgets, lay offs and cutting back are occuring. Unles you make a huge effort to use them and incorporate them in to lessons they are just fancy internet browsing. We have some one here who got one and an iPhone and before that the new Blackberry all paid for by the School. He admitted before he got the blackberry that he wanted the school to pay for it so he went out and came up with all sorts of excuses..... same with the iPad. Shame really because those who could really use it probably dont get it, those who just want to look pretty go out of their way to get them.
enjay Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 Coming to this a little late, but I have noticed an interesting trend in this thread. The discussion is largely a debate between "tablet" or "keyboard" as if they are mutually exclusive things. I love my tablet, as I am (generally) just a consumer of information, creating very little beyond a one sentence reply on Facebook; granted, that reply takes longer to type than it would on my laptop, but the convenience of the small design outweighs this, plus my typing speed on the tablet is increasing. For me, the "best of both" would be a tablet with an external keyboard; I can easily defend that, and if there were a way of connecting it to a classroom projector (AppleTV is close, but too expensive at present), I would strongly encourage the school to consider the move.
localzuk Posted May 3, 2012 Author Posted May 3, 2012 Coming to this a little late, but I have noticed an interesting trend in this thread. The discussion is largely a debate between "tablet" or "keyboard" as if they are mutually exclusive things. I love my tablet, as I am (generally) just a consumer of information, creating very little beyond a one sentence reply on Facebook; granted, that reply takes longer to type than it would on my laptop, but the convenience of the small design outweighs this, plus my typing speed on the tablet is increasing. For me, the "best of both" would be a tablet with an external keyboard; I can easily defend that, and if there were a way of connecting it to a classroom projector (AppleTV is close, but too expensive at present), I would strongly encourage the school to consider the move. I don't understand a desire to have a tablet with an external keyboard... Why not just have a laptop?
jamesfed Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 I don't understand a desire to have a tablet with an external keyboard... Why not just have a laptop? I've accualy been thinking about this and where I will stand when I get my Windows 8 Tablet (well when it comes out at least!) have been thinking a nice charging dock (like the one for the Acer W500) and keyboard would work quite nicely as a compleate replacement to my notebook PC (so long as Windows RT has RDP I'm good!). That way I can take it out of the dock if I'm going to 'grab and go' while keeping the keyboard ready to use it as a full on notebook as and when needed.
enjay Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 I don't understand a desire to have a tablet with an external keyboard... Why not just have a laptop? A laptop weights 2.5-3Kg, a tablet weighs a bit over 1Kg with keyboard and 500-600g without. So, even if everything I was doing required a keyboard, the weight and space saving is significant, and for those things where I don't want a keyboard, I can just remove it. You then take the battery life into consideration, and the tablet wins again - 15ish hours on my Galaxy. Should I require more power than that, all I need is a USB cable and mains adapter, which are much smaller than the power pack needed for a laptop.
aerospacemango Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 BBC News - Ubuntu's Mark Shuttleworth on shaking up system software I draw your attention to this..... Could it be the future? Just 6 months away? This would negate the phone/tablet/laptop.desktop argument!
localzuk Posted May 3, 2012 Author Posted May 3, 2012 A Macbook Air weighs 1ish kg and has a 5 hour battery... The Asus Zenbook weighs 1.3kg and has a 5-7 hour battery depending on model. The HP Folio 13 weighs in at 1.5kg and has a 9 hour battery. The Dell XPS 13 weighs 1.4kg and has an 8 hour battery. The Toshiba Satellite Z830-10 weighs 1.1kg and has a 6 hour battery. Yes, they all cost more than a tablet, but they are also significantly more machine with regards to spec.
Pete10141748 Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 The big advantage to me personally of having an touchscreen tablet instead of a laptop (at home) is that I can hold it like a book and have it close to my face. My eyesight is terrible at distance and even a laptop sitting on my knees while on a sofa would be of difficulty for me to use; I generally need to be no more than 8-10 inches away from the screen if I am to read things clearly and easily. So in that regard, a tablet is perfect for me.
enjay Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 they all cost more than a tablet So that's +1 for the tablet+keyboard model... but they are also significantly more machine with regards to spec. If they can run a web browser and an Office-style app, that's enough for most teachers. They're not crunching programming on them, editing movies or playing games, after all.
Greenbeast Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 i'd love to have the cash for a tablet +keyboard combo to semi-replace my laptop! i'm mostly a consumer of content too, so would suit me down to the ground and be more portable.
localzuk Posted May 3, 2012 Author Posted May 3, 2012 So that's +1 for the tablet+keyboard model... If they can run a web browser and an Office-style app, that's enough for most teachers. They're not crunching programming on them, editing movies or playing games, after all. I would disagree there. In the last week, I've had requests from teachers for assistance with video editing, CAD, interactive games, SEN software, complex spreadsheets involving macros and more...
enjay Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 I would disagree there. In the last week, I've had requests from teachers for assistance with video editing, CAD, interactive games, SEN software, complex spreadsheets involving macros and more... I'm sure you have. You'll note I said "most teachers"; I can't believe that many teachers, let alone mostteachers are using CAD. When you say "interactive games" do you mean creating them or playing them? If creating, again I would suggest this is not being done by most teachers, and playing should be fine so long as they don't have a fruit-based tablet without Flash. There will be some instances of Windows-only software, hindering the move to tablets, however Windows 8 or 9 will hopefully address that. I suspect that at least 99% of staff would be happy with a tablet and keyboard, and the other 1% can have a laptop.
localzuk Posted May 3, 2012 Author Posted May 3, 2012 (edited) I'm sure you have. You'll note I said "most teachers"; I can't believe that many teachers, let alone mostteachers are using CAD. When you say "interactive games" do you mean creating them or playing them? If creating, again I would suggest this is not being done by most teachers, and playing should be fine so long as they don't have a fruit-based tablet without Flash. There will be some instances of Windows-only software, hindering the move to tablets, however Windows 8 or 9 will hopefully address that. I suspect that at least 99% of staff would be happy with a tablet and keyboard, and the other 1% can have a laptop. Most teachers do *something* that is outside the realm of a browser and office. Sure, they don't all do CAD, and they don't all do video editing, but each one does something that is out of the 'norm'. The games are not flash based ones. We have a class each week where strategy games are played. We're looking at Minecraft and running a Minecraft server. That teacher would need that on their device for example. I can't think of any teachers who don't use at least one piece of 'significant' software at some point during the year... And that's not mentioning the whole electronic examinations software that is ever increasing in use. Edited May 3, 2012 by localzuk
enjay Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 Most teachers do *something* that is outside the realm of a browser and office. Perhaps true, but I suspect that a well-specced Windows 8 tablet would meet those needs. I will concede that the range of apps available on both Android and IOS prevent exclusive use of tablets - at present, anyway, and maybe by the time Win8 tablets all-round is viable (or should that be, by the time Win9 is released?!), the other tablet OSs will have caught up.
Pyroman Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 BBC News - Ubuntu's Mark Shuttleworth on shaking up system software I draw your attention to this..... Could it be the future? Just 6 months away? This would negate the phone/tablet/laptop.desktop argument!
bondbill2k2 Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 Due to the increase in voice commands for everyday equipment such as the Xbox kinect in homes parents who find their hands full with their young children are using voice commands frequently. How long till we hear a childs first words as "xbox play"
enjay Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 Voice commands make it so much easier to send that "vital" text message while driving... :-) Seriously though, a voice-controlled satnav would be nice.
sonofsanta Posted May 3, 2012 Posted May 3, 2012 (edited) Voice commands make it so much easier to send that "vital" text message while driving... :-) Seriously though, a voice-controlled satnav would be nice. Particularly if she recognised the command "what are you on about you stupid b*$%h!" and double-checked her route, or the one that would often be useful, "shut up for a minute would you?" when you're somewhere you know and don't need constant demands to bear left in 30 yards, or you're on a new road and she's constantly telling you to turn left so you get back to a road she knows about. (not meaning to come across sexist, just my GPS is a lady voice, because I'm so used to obeying orders given in a female tone) Edited May 3, 2012 by sonofsanta
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