Looking forward to next year's iPad to MacBook comparision

It has been about a month since we decided to offer the iPad as an alternative to the laptop that we have been giving out to our students for many years. There have been mentions of this by mostly technology publications around the world with many comments ranging from concern to praise. And of course there has been a fair amount of discussion on campus about what this really means. Actually the greatest advantage for us is that it has forced our programs to consider what their minimum computing requirements are so that they can properly advise their students about whether they really need a laptop or not. We have no idea what the adoption rate for iPads will be but we know there is excitement growing especially with incredible hype that has been accompanying the scheduled release of the iPad this coming Saturday.

What struck me tonight as I was thinking about all of the standard interviews that I have been giving is that the most interesting aspect of George Fox giving out iPads will be the direct comparison to the MacBook. It has been interesting observing faculty consider and realize that the iPad probably can do all that they require. Unfortunately as I have mentioned before this is not exactly what Apple wants explored at this time in Higher Education. But this may be really interesting in that our university has totally defined the usefulness of a laptop and in recent years the MacBook for support of academic technology needs. Next year we will get to compare the experience of those who select the iPad with this wealth of laptop experience.

The iPad will be Successful

I probably should be posting everyday if I wanted to keep everyone up-to-date on the many discussions and issues circulating around our investigation of the iPad as our university’s recommendation for a student educational technology device. But I took 5 days out to celebrate my dad’s 95th birthday and now the SuperBowl will require some attention. Go Colts.

So a quick update - the excitement that the iPad has generated was summed up well by our President who was in Washington DC during the Apple iPad event where he observed that the iPad announcement received more media attention then the State of the Union Address. Many who fear the change that the iPad will bring have argued for what it can’t do. Here is an example: “but it does not do handwriting recognition” or “it does not have a camera”, "it does not multi-task", etc. So let’s be clear - the iPad is not a Tablet, or Laptop, or iPhone. It is an iPad and it is not intended to be like anything else, it is a NEW and innovative technology.

Many play the skeptical role questioning whether it will be successful and they are content to wait and see. I say the iPad has no risk of failure, worst case it will be successful if nothing more then as a replacement for our love affair with having a morning newspaper. There is a reason why the book publishers are embracing the iPad and this is different from the music industry and the iPod. First, the music industry did not see or understand what hit them. Second, the iPad comes in as the second or third generation eBook reader that solves most of the problems. Third, the business concept has already been defined and Apple is not the enemy, Amazon and Google have been.

So I need to allocate enough time to fulfill my obligation as a die hard Colts fan this weekend and then I have to present a proposal to my university for why I believe the iPad would be a more effective education technology device then the current MacBook that we give to our students. However, the iPad has no chance of winning that role without the support of our faculty to leverage the iPad’s technological advantages in the classroom and on campus.