Tablets, and especially Apple's iPad, could be poised to become a big part of educational computing. According to a new survey of technology directors for school districts, all of those questioned are in the process of testing or using iPads, and most indicated they expect that tablets could outnumber computers in education within five years.
The survey, by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, is relatively small -- only 25 tech directors attending an educational technology conference. But the results may point to the future of tablets in education as well as in business training.
End of Student Backpacks?
Interestingly, none of the 25 were testing or using Android tablets. Munster told news media that the lack of Androids could be due to the limited availability of devices using that platform, compared with the iPad. But, he said, it does point to Apple's "first-mover advantage," and could indicate a trend in education, which is also present in businesses, where students or employees are creating a demand for Apple products because they use them in their personal lives. In fact, schools mean "iPads" when they discuss "tablets."
The interviewed tech directors indicated their expectations that tablets for students will outnumber laptop and desktop computers within five years. But the directors expect tablets will supplement, not replace, computers.
Ron Johnson, the outgoing head of retail operations at Apple, has predicted that the current generation of students could be the last ones with backpacks to carry their textbooks, since the next generation may quickly move to textbooks on tablets. Apple has said that about 1,000 K-12 schools in the U.S. have an ongoing effort to provide one iPad for use by each student during the day.
Avi Greengart, an analyst with research firm Current Analysis, said many institutions and businesses were "still in the evaluation stage" of assessing how tablets could be used.
Pseudo-Laptops
He noted that, because the iPad is a popular platform, it's "not hard to find someone to create software" for the device, if needed for a specific school or business application that is not otherwise available.
Of course, there is also a large supply of existing applications for education and training, many of which take advantage of the appealing graphical and touch-centric advantages of a tablet.
The price for tablets, Greengart noted, is getting "fairly competitive," especially given that businesses using tablets before the iPad, such as for meter readers, would have been paying $1000 or so for a device. The iPad starts at $499, and new Android tablets from Amazon and others are coming out in the $200 range.
But tablets have their limitations, such as handling extensive typing or other productive uses. Greengart pointed out that there are a variety of full, external keyboards available for tablets, as well as dongles to permit display on a large screen -- although, at some point, the addition of peripherals starts turning the easy-to-carry tablet into a pseudo-laptop.
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