Tablet or laptop for teacher

derb12

Instead of the big folder that my school supplies teachers with for keeping track of attendance, results etc, I've used a laptop (windows) and spreadsheets for all that stuff and I find it great.
However, I have to get a new laptop as my old one takes too long to start up at the start of each class (even though I hibernate rather than logging off or shutting down) those minutes that I spend waiting to open the right file are just a nuisance.
So now that I'm going to invest in a new piece of equipment, I'm wondering should I go for a new windows laptop or one of the tablet style products like the i-pad or the samsung galaxy note.
Has anyone used any of these for their day to day teaching and if so, what is your experience?
Also, either way, I would like to get e-books of all the textbooks I am teaching with. I've accessed Folens books online before, but not had my own actual copy of the book on my computer. Is it possible to get these even if your school is not one of the "i-pads and e-books for all" type schools?

wolfyboy555

iPad! Instant access with the switch of a button. Numerous educational apps and apps like teacher kit for attendance, grades, seating plans etc!

jonseyblub

If you are going to use it for admin, make sure you get a bluetooth keyboard as the onscreen keyboard is fine for short use but a pain if its your main way of typing.

implausible

derb12 wrote: »

Instead of the big folder that my school supplies teachers with for keeping track of attendance, results etc, I've used a laptop (windows) and spreadsheets for all that stuff and I find it great.

Just make sure that your school isn't planning to introduce ePortal in the next while before you buy anything! It'd be very annoying to fork out for a new lappy and then have the school hand you one or a pc!

bdoo

implausible wrote: »

derb12 wrote: »

Instead of the big folder that my school supplies teachers with for keeping track of attendance, results etc, I've used a laptop (windows) and spreadsheets for all that stuff and I find it great.

Just make sure that your school isn't planning to introduce ePortal in the next while before you buy anything! It'd be very annoying to fork out for a new lappy and then have the school hand you one or a pc!

I'm not crazy about ipads. Laptop all the way for making notes and handouts etc.E Portal only works with internet explorer but I believe serco are working on iPad compatibility.

As for the ebooks the publishers might give you a copy if you are using the book ask the rep when they're in flogging overpriced past papers in the next few weeks.

If you have a school network a laptop will be better for accessing files etc imo. Dell are doing a convertible tablet laptop but they're expensive. I was talking to someone recently who reckons that within a year there will be a cheap (€300) windows 8 tablet that will have all the functionality of a laptop

doc_17

Anybody know of any decent maths apps that could be useful in the classroom?

implausible

bdoo wrote: »

E Portal only works with internet explorer but I believe serco are working on iPad compatibility.

I use an plug-in in Chrome to open IE, I presumed Safari would have the same.

We must be very lucky in our place - pc in each room and most teachers have school laptops.

Tom Dunne

The golden rule - iPad for content consumption, laptop for content creation.

As a student (I'm studying), I use my iPad incessantly. As a lecturer, there are many things I can't do on my iPad that I have to use my laptop for.

So I would be strongly recommending a laptop.

derb12

Thanks for all the replies! I've decided to stick with a laptop for this year. Instant start up for rollcall or noting missing homework at the start of class is important, but a new laptop will be quicker than my old one and also I will need to use it for creating tests, worksheets, presentations in the course of the working day too. TomDunne's golden rule makes sense to me so I won't be going to i-pad route.
We use eportal in the school already, but I've always used firefox (which isn't fully compatible) so I am used to using the school PCs for that.

On the subject of maths software -
I use mostly Geogebra and Spreadsheets day to day. Spreadsheets are great for stats, creating large sets of data and calculating std dev and mean and showing how they change as you make changes to the data.
I also use minitab (which is a bit of a monster) and a package called OUStats which I got when I did an OU course a few years ago. I also got MathCAD from the OU but can't bear to use it - in fact the licence is probably out of date (no loss).
For the next few days I will be working on getting my brand new laptop set up with new software for next term so I'll post anything else I come across. Perhaps we could start a new thread?

implausible

derb12 wrote: »

We use eportal in the school already, but I've always used firefox (which isn't fully compatible) so I am used to using the school PCs for that.

I'm fairly sure that Firefox has a plug-in/extension for IE, which allows you to use it within a tab.

limerickhurl

Very much in the same boat. Leaning now towards the laptop too, Ipad has too many limitations in my book for ease of access in the classroom (keyboard, USB ports, microsoft office).

With this in mind, can anyone recommend a laptop? Budget would be up to about 550 euros.

Cheers.

bdoo

limerickhurl wrote: »

Very much in the same boat. Leaning now towards the laptop too, Ipad has too many limitations in my book for ease of access in the classroom (keyboard, USB ports, microsoft office).

With this in mind, can anyone recommend a laptop? Budget would be up to about 550 euros.

Cheers.

I always found Toshiba to be a good make. I think the full size number pad on the right of the keyboard is essential, even for simple things like putting in grades.

It's worth checking if your school or VEC have a site license for ms office, if it does it could save you a lot on the cost of this package.

runawaybishop

You can pick up plenty of decent laptops for around 400-450. Open office is free, try that.

bdoo

runawaybishop wrote: »

You can pick up plenty of decent laptops for around 400-450. Open office is free, try that.

True lots of freeware!

ccazza

You can get the full version of Microsoft office 2010for about €80 from software4students which is great. Much better than the student version as it is the complete package.

Cailin CoisFarraige

derb12 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies! I've decided to stick with a laptop for this year. Instant start up for rollcall or noting missing homework at the start of class is important, but a new laptop will be quicker than my old one and also I will need to use it for creating tests, worksheets, presentations in the course of the working day too.

Just on the topic of getting your laptop up and running quickly Derb, I know how annoying it can be to want to get the class going and be stuck waiting for programs to load.
Obviously a new laptop will be faster. I had to get my hard drive wiped recently and ever since my start up has been super fast. If you're downloading programs, try not to save them to the desktop, as this slows the system down.
Also, things like Skype that start automatically when you turn on the computer can be a nightmare. Go to the Start menu --> All Programs --> Startup and delete the shortcuts to anything that you don't need immediately when you turn on the computer.
Hopefully this should stop your new computer slowing down!