And, on the hardware side...
I was fortunate to attend BETT late last month. I missed the speakers, as I could only attend one day and my primary interest wasn't software or education systems. I was interested in hardware developments. These, I think, represent very significant shifts in contemporary TEL.
About a decade ago I was, I admit, somewhat bemused by the interest in mobile technologies. I was interested in the work of Traxler and Herrington & Herrington, but these were the days before the iPad, and touch-screen technologies were not ready for everyday consumers. Talk of mobile learning was restricted to media availability through iPods; text message; and IM. Tablet technology was in its early stages, and laptops were still very bulky. There was potential, but it was, at least to me, piecemeal and multi-device dependent.
Oh, how things have changed. Yes, we have had the recent explosion in iPad and Android tablets. Mobile phones are now incredibly powerful by processor, RAM, storage, screen resolution, connectivity and interface standards. Yet, until now, there have always been identifiable categories of phone, tablet, desktop, and laptop. I've even felt the (geeky) need to have all four at once.
No more! Hardware is taking a decisive, convergent step such that, educationally at least, it is almost an irrelevance to differentiate between tablet, laptop and desktop. Unless you're into high-end media development or intensive processing, it's possible to have a powerful and integrated desktop/ laptop/ tablet combination, running Windows 10, for as little as £320 including tablet, wifi keyboard and mouse, and external monitor. For the past six months I have been doing all of my work on a less powerful (2GB) Windows 10 Linx tablet than the 4GB version now available for the same price (I'm using the 1010B). The only exceptions are that I cannot print - seldom an inconvenience with a mobile tablet - and I cannot access some shared drives (yes, we still use shared drives... we're only starting to implement OneDrive effectively). With Office 365 I also have complete access to all files through OneDrive.
My work setup is the first photo.
From desktop environment to mobile meeting involves removing two cables (power, mini HDMI).
I can take the full keyboard with me if necessary; I haven't found the native Linx one very good at all. More often I just used the on-screen keyboard. I've synchronised with OneDrive, have a 128GB SD card on board, and I have full Microsoft Office applications installed.
I use the external monitor in portrait mode, which incidentally many have commented on and admired but few have adopted! It is, by far, the easiest way to engage with email inboxes and document reading where context helps.
Windows 10 gives me a low boot delay, and ready access to the entire Office Suite. I run full Outlook, not a tablet client.
At home I have a Microsoft Surface 3, easily the sweetest thing I have ever computationally decided to purchase. Check this arrangement out.
Yes, one Surface; two external monitors (one portrait, one landscape), one magnetic dock link for wifi keyboard and mouse and additional USB accessories. I can unattach the magnetic dock, attach the magnetic keyboard, and have a laptop. Or, more frequently, I just detach the tablet for a full mobile computing experience.
So, I went to BETT to see the latest devices. There were some very good ones; Asus were particularly cost-effective with their T102HA. But, to my surprise, there didn't seem to be much equivalent in price to the Linx 10V64 linked to earlier.
Anyway, here's my point: mobile computing has converged with desktop and laptop computing, at an incredibly accessible price point. Students can have all they need for a highly effective TEL experience for £320, and if their HEI subscribes to Microsoft Office 365, that amount can include installed versions of Microsoft Office. The specifications also give access to a very broad range of full PC applications. It's now possible to move from workstation to commute seamlessly, with the same degree of processing power using the same, full PC applications.
If I were a student just starting out, I would not go anywhere near a desktop or laptop solution. Nor would I go for a separate tablet. I'd be thinking about an integrated solution! Compare what I showed earlier for £320. Why would you do this? Or this? Or this? Or this? Or ... ?
About a decade ago I was, I admit, somewhat bemused by the interest in mobile technologies. I was interested in the work of Traxler and Herrington & Herrington, but these were the days before the iPad, and touch-screen technologies were not ready for everyday consumers. Talk of mobile learning was restricted to media availability through iPods; text message; and IM. Tablet technology was in its early stages, and laptops were still very bulky. There was potential, but it was, at least to me, piecemeal and multi-device dependent.
Oh, how things have changed. Yes, we have had the recent explosion in iPad and Android tablets. Mobile phones are now incredibly powerful by processor, RAM, storage, screen resolution, connectivity and interface standards. Yet, until now, there have always been identifiable categories of phone, tablet, desktop, and laptop. I've even felt the (geeky) need to have all four at once.
No more! Hardware is taking a decisive, convergent step such that, educationally at least, it is almost an irrelevance to differentiate between tablet, laptop and desktop. Unless you're into high-end media development or intensive processing, it's possible to have a powerful and integrated desktop/ laptop/ tablet combination, running Windows 10, for as little as £320 including tablet, wifi keyboard and mouse, and external monitor. For the past six months I have been doing all of my work on a less powerful (2GB) Windows 10 Linx tablet than the 4GB version now available for the same price (I'm using the 1010B). The only exceptions are that I cannot print - seldom an inconvenience with a mobile tablet - and I cannot access some shared drives (yes, we still use shared drives... we're only starting to implement OneDrive effectively). With Office 365 I also have complete access to all files through OneDrive.
My work setup is the first photo.
From desktop environment to mobile meeting involves removing two cables (power, mini HDMI).
I can take the full keyboard with me if necessary; I haven't found the native Linx one very good at all. More often I just used the on-screen keyboard. I've synchronised with OneDrive, have a 128GB SD card on board, and I have full Microsoft Office applications installed.I use the external monitor in portrait mode, which incidentally many have commented on and admired but few have adopted! It is, by far, the easiest way to engage with email inboxes and document reading where context helps.
Windows 10 gives me a low boot delay, and ready access to the entire Office Suite. I run full Outlook, not a tablet client.
At home I have a Microsoft Surface 3, easily the sweetest thing I have ever computationally decided to purchase. Check this arrangement out.
Yes, one Surface; two external monitors (one portrait, one landscape), one magnetic dock link for wifi keyboard and mouse and additional USB accessories. I can unattach the magnetic dock, attach the magnetic keyboard, and have a laptop. Or, more frequently, I just detach the tablet for a full mobile computing experience.So, I went to BETT to see the latest devices. There were some very good ones; Asus were particularly cost-effective with their T102HA. But, to my surprise, there didn't seem to be much equivalent in price to the Linx 10V64 linked to earlier.
Anyway, here's my point: mobile computing has converged with desktop and laptop computing, at an incredibly accessible price point. Students can have all they need for a highly effective TEL experience for £320, and if their HEI subscribes to Microsoft Office 365, that amount can include installed versions of Microsoft Office. The specifications also give access to a very broad range of full PC applications. It's now possible to move from workstation to commute seamlessly, with the same degree of processing power using the same, full PC applications.
If I were a student just starting out, I would not go anywhere near a desktop or laptop solution. Nor would I go for a separate tablet. I'd be thinking about an integrated solution! Compare what I showed earlier for £320. Why would you do this? Or this? Or this? Or this? Or ... ?
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