iPads and Chromebooks in 1:1 Deployments?

This evening, Erin Klein, a technology integration specialist I follow on Twitter (@KleinErin) posted this tweet, which is a link to THE JOURNAL and an article by Leila Meyer who discusses using both iPads and Chromebooks in a 1:1 deployment.

Debating iPads or Chromebooks for 1:1? Why not both? zite.to/11xXOkG

—
Erin Klein (@KleinErin) June 07, 2013

I find myself completely at odds with the article, having purchased both devices. Meyer’s article is based around two core beliefs:

1. iPads are better suited for younger students and subjects like math

2. Chromebooks are better suited for older students and subjects like English (i.e. kids write so much they need a keyboard–”Kids gotta type!”).

Let me summarize a few thoughts:

1. This approach ignores the many classes in which a Chromebook is basically useless (including music)
2. This approach believes that the number one role of a computer in secondary education is to write papers (this is NOT technology integration).
3. This approach believes that Google Docs are robust apps that are ideal for writing those papers (There are benefits and drawbacks to Google Docs)
4. This approach believes that other hardware features of the iPad are not necessary in secondary education (Cameras for iMovie and so on, not to mention the wide variety of apps)

I own a Chromebook.  I am writing this blog post on a Chromebook.  I think it is an ideal machine, particularly in school media centers, where the purpose of computers has been for research, writing, and making PowerPoints.  But the Chromebook is so limited as a browser-based system that its strengths lie only on the S (substitution) and A (augmentation) levels of the SAMR technology integration model.  It just isn’t a device that allows for higher level technology integration. And, for the most part, the only people that are buying Chromebooks are schools and individual users who just need a web browser…everyone else is buying iPads these days…quite literally everyone else.  So there is a chance that Google will eventually abandon these devices, as they have other services in the past.

Now, if a school wishes to use a combination of iPads and MacBooks, or iPads and Windows PCs…I’m fine with that and can see the argument about how the Mac/PC better prepares them for the business world (although businesses are buying plenty of iPads, too).  But I’d still argue that notebook computers are very hard to integrate into all subjects.  But to honestly say that iPads should be used in elementary and Chromebooks should be used in Secondary is really limiting what you can do with technology at the secondary level.

Okay…so that keyboard on the Chromebook helped your student write a ten page paper (how many ten page papers do you think your student writes in high school anyway?), but have you seen the interface and resulting documents from Google Docs?  Can you cite things to your school’s standards with Google Docs?  Furthermore, how is that 4 hour battery holding up in class?

And show me the creative projects your students are doing, such as videos (iMovie), musical compositions (GarageBand or Notion), or some of the interesting presentations they have created (Keynote, Haiku Deck, or Scrollshow).  How about the great notetaking apps where students can type notes, draw, or write notes by hand (Notability, Noteshelf)?

Do you see where I am going with this?

The answer, in my brain, is to go with iPad Minis at the elementary level (smaller users, smaller hands) and iPads at the secondary level, and let students buy their own keyboard case (there are several wonderful ones on the market) instead.

The other hidden aspect of the Chromebook implementation is the cost savings.  Chromebooks can be purchased for around $200, whereas you really don’t want anything less than a 32GB iPad these days…at $429 (32GB Mini) to $599 (32GB iPad 4).  You can buy two Chomebooks for every iPad, and sometimes four Chromebooks for every MacBook.  Schoosl typically donm’t buy bargain Windows PCs, either…they buy school units with extended warranties starting around $1000 as well…once again, making it 4 Chromebooks for every Windows notebook.  Add a keyboard case to the iPad, and the financial argument even goes further.

So…the question schools ask: is this device (iPad, notebook, etc.) worth two to four times more than the Chromebook?  If they answer no, they feel the creative and multipurpose nature of the iPad is not worth the cost–and chances are, they are not invested in technology integration, just technology substitution–making a better typewriter.

Should you mix devices in a 1:1?  Maybe, but certainly not in the combination of iPads for elementary and Chromebooks for secondary.

What would I suggest?

1. iPads in the hands of all students, 1:1 (iPad Minis in elementary, iPads in secondary)
2. Students provide keyboards if needed.
3. Chromebooks in the media center, replacing old desktop computers
4. MacBook labs for specific subjects needing specific notebook programs
5. Teachers should have both a Macbook (for iBooks Author alone) and an iPad

This model is more expensive than 1:1 Chromebook, and slightly more expensive than 1:1 iPad, but significantly less expensive than 1:1 MacBook or Windows PC deployment.

If you have noticed, I have not discussed Android tablets, as the article is dismissive of that platform.  That would be an article for another time.

The 16GB iPad Really Isn’t Big Enough Anymore

Have you taken a moment to look at the iOS app catalog lately?  Or if you have an iPad, have you looked on your iPad to see how you are doing with available memory?

You can check your biggest apps by going to Settings -> General -> Usage

A quick look at my iPad shows how 3 music apps take up 4.2 GB of space on my iPad:

Now, not all of these apps are as large as they seem.  You can click on any one of these apps to see how much memory the app itself takes, and how much memory the additional files you create take up on your iPad.

Here is forScore, which is only a 7.9 MB app.  I have 1.5 GB of sheet music materials in forScore, which I will likely clean out in the near future.

In contrast, Notion for iPad is a huge program, weighing in at 1.6GB.  

Now, just because an app is large doesn’t mean that is is bad.  But what it does mean is that if you (or your school) buys 16GB iPads, it won’t be long before those 16GB are used up.  It makes a lot of sense to me to spend $100 per device and to give yourself some additional breathing room.  Personally, I’ll buy a 128GB iPad the next time around.

I know many Android fans will say, “We have SD card slots on our devices, so we’re not limited by that.”  But the truth is that Android users then have to manage where things are stored as they are installed, and should they remove that SD card, all kinds of potential issues arise.  In the education field, the fewer ports the better, and the fewer things to lose (SD cards, for example), the better.  This is probably true in every market, not just education.

I’m hoping that Apple will drop the 16GB iPad when the 5th Generation iPad is released, and upgrade the iPad line to only offer 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB versions (I would also consider a 256GB iPad).

Two things are abundantly clear: First, high quality apps take up a good amount of space, such as Notion and SmartMusic.  Even Apple’s high quality apps take up a bit of space.  Highly interactive iBooks can also come in at a whopping 2GB.  Second, if you have a 16GB iPad, space management will be an issue.

I’ve been recommending the purchase of 32GB (minimum) iPads since 2010; and all of my iPads–to this point–have been 64GB devices.  If you–or your school–is considering iPads, and you can make it happen–get the 32GB devices.

A different view (same conclusion) on iPad vs. Android Tablets

Earlier today, Fraser Speirs tweeted about an article from Mark Cunningham, who has been implementing a 1:1 Android pilot (140 devices) for the Edinburgh Council.

Important lessons on warranty and repair turnaround from a Scottish school trying Android devices: cunniman.net/?p=1352

—
Fraser Speirs (@fraserspeirs) April 06, 2013

Every now and then, I receive feedback (in person, in an e-mail, on a forum) where an Android tablet owner is upset about the continued success of the iPad, particularly in education (and although it is true more and more Android devices are being sold than iOS devices, iOS is still maintaining a huge percentage of web usage, profits in the industry, and available apps).  Mr. Cunningham, after using Android devices for a year, has this to say:

…After much consideration iPad / iOS is the platform which best meets the needs of our secondary learners. There are two fundamental reasons why I believe we need to change from Android tablets to iPads this year: 1.  Availability of rich learning content All too regularly I come across a fantastic app only to discover that it’s available only for iOS and not Android. I don’t have an exact figure, but I would guess that maybe one third of the educational apps are designed for iOS only (some great examples are GarageBand, Explain Everything,Foldify, KeyNote, Puppet Pals, Brushes, Geoboard to name but a few). Of course that might change in the future as Android continues to catch up, but as things stand this is a problem. 2. Device (and company) robustness As I highlighted in my previous 1:1 posts, Toshiba (note: Toshiba and not Android) have let us down. Badly. The project this year has been hampered by a return to base warranty issue which has meant that at times we were without 20% of all devices and the time to repair was on average a completely unacceptable 4-5 weeks. This was down to a manufacturing / build fault, but despite numerous requests for support Toshiba spent 6 months saying there was nothing they could do. Would Apple have sat back if one fifth of their devices rolled out to a school were faulty? I doubt it, and I doubt Apple would allow such build faults to get past their quality control processes. (I should point out that 7 months into the project Toshiba finally visited our school to review all devices, but in my opinion this was too little too late). Would other Android companies such as Asus or Samsung be any different to Toshiba? Possibly, but I don’t know. Just to be absolutely clear, I am neither an Apple or Android promoter, I just want to ensure we are providing the best educational tech tools to meet the needs of our learners. Currently, in my opinion the iPad is the tablet device which best meets our needs. And next year? Well, who knows…

The topic of this blog is (and remains) the use of technology in music education.  Although I do not have the ability to purchase all devices, I make an attempt to buy a few (such as my Android-running HP TouchPad and the Samsung Google Chromebook, which I am actually using to type this blog post) and to get to big box stores to play with other new technology that I can’t buy.  Cunningham’s two issues are true in music education as much as any other field in education; but I would add that nearly every other technology solution–particularly when it comes to computing, other than the iPad–fails miserably in the music classroom, as well in the classroom of other electives.  My firm belief is that in the current era, when a school chooses another platform for computing (Android, Windows Tablets, Windows PCs, Chromebooks, even MacBooks), they are sending a message that the electives are not important in education, and that technology does not matter in those fields.

Yes, I am pro-iPad.  But I am also pro-technology.  A fellow teacher at my school recently gave me a bit of grief for buying a Chromebook, saying, “The biggest Apple Fanboi I know just bought a Chromebook!”  He was joking, but I replied rather seriously, “Don’t confuse my love for Apple and their solutions with my overall interest in technology and its use in education.”

Put another way, there may be a place in your life for a Chromebook, and Android Tablet, a WIndows PC, or a MacBook.  As I have mentioned, I am using a Chromebook at this moment.  But if you are pursuing a 1:1 educational situation with any of those devices instead of an iPad–then that effort is misplaced, particularly if you endorse a well-rounded liberal arts education.  If you don’t support a well-rounded education, then buy everyone a Windows PC or a MacBook, and be honest about your philosophy of education (most decision-makers are afraid to be honest about this, or deny that they have that bias).

As Cunningham notes (and in fact,so did Fraser Speirs, when originally writing about their adoption of the iPad), “Currently, in my opinion the iPad is the tablet device which best meets our needs. And next year? Well, who knows…”  But here is the thing…you should never buy something for what it might do, but instead buy it for what it currently does.  One of the problems with Android devices is the issue of fragmentation (multiple versions of the OS running on thousands of devices), although the iPad is starting to experience fragmentation, too (The three-year old first generation iPad cannot run iOS 6, and thus a large number of apps).  I know of a number of schools buying Android devices that say, “We expect the app situation on Android to improve.”  And it has–a little.  But Apple’s platform has continued to develop as well, and so has the Apple App Store.  If you are going to spend limited education dollars on technology, you need to have an ear to the ground about what is coming–but also be aware of what the device can do right now.  If you compare Apples to Apples (terrible analogy in this case), then the answer has to be iPad.

Final Note: Fraser Speirs followed with some additional tweets about Mr. Cunningham’s experience with faulty tablets and down time, which he also discusses in his article.  It HAS to be unacceptable to lose 20% of your technology platform at times (as happened in Mr. Cunningham’s situation).  Mr. Speirs noted that he could get a device replaced within a day, versus 4-5 weeks with the Toshiba tablets.  Granted, there are probably better quality Android tablets on the market that would have the operational durability we’ve seen with iPads…but this is a part of the discussion to consider when Android tablets are chosen over iPads.

Post Script: I managed to crash the Google Chromebook while writing this post.

The iPad 4 and the VGA Adapter

In order to present with my iPad 4, I swallowed hard and paid the $50 to buy the new iPad 4 VGA Adapter. I used to try to mirror wirelessly for presentations (via Reflector on my MacBook), but that has been problematic, even when I have been using my own MacBook generated Ad-Hoc network. So to avoid mirroring issues, I bought the adapter, and control the presentation from my iPhone (with Apple's Keynote Remote). I have been surprised to learn that there are some benefits of using this adapter, even at the steep cost.

• If you ever used the old 30-pin dongle, the slightest bump would make it fall out. The lightning cable snaps in securely and won't fall out. This might be worth the extra money alone.
• The new VGA adapter allows you to plug in your lightning USB cord to power your iPad during a presentation. You couldn't do that with the old 30 pin VGA adapter.
• Here's the biggest surprise: I have a 16:10 SMART Board at school. When I project via an Apple TV or Reflector, my iPad appears in 4:3 format. This is to be expected. I plugged my iPad into the VGA cable at school the first time last week (again, I usually use AirPlay to be wireless), and the iPad image stretches to the full 16:10 of the screen (landscape orientation, of course). I've tried this numerous times, and this is a new function of the VGA Adapter cable. Sight reading can get small while wirelessly mirroring to the screen in 4:3….so I'm looking forward to seeing how my students do with a 16:10 image. Has anyone else mentioned this new feature?

 

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Using iPads for Choir Sectionals (many links!)

On Friday morning, Jeff Tillinghast wrote (On Choralnet) about using iPads in choir, when you have one iPad, five iPads, or every student has an iPad. I love his ideas–although I disagree with his statement that music is “too small” on the iPad (particularly with a reference to the Messiah–the famous G. Schirmer score is in the Public Domain [although it is still sold] and is larger on my iPad than it is in print).

In his category of “five iPads,” Tillinghast wrote, “Record the accompaniment so that I could send a section to go work on sectional material without having to worry about finding a piano player.”

I've been doing this for years with a wide variety of technology. I am not a strong piano player. I've come to terms with this, as I am a very good tenor, tuba player, and conductor…and I have “mad skillz” with music technology. I've grown to accept that you simply can't be a master of everything. We, like most schools, use accompanists for concerts–and at my current school, we've been able to use students for every concert with one exception (our Mock Trial team made it to state, state was on the same night as our concert, and one of our piano players was in Mock Trial). For years I've placed accompaniment files into Finale, and generated rehearsal accompaniment files from Finale. When I enter all the vocal parts into Finale, I can make a rehearsal track for an individual voice part. As the years have progressed, I've added more data into those files (including text). Now, with SmartMusic, I can not only make an accompaniment for a student, I can also (quickly) make a SmartMusic assessment file at any point of the rehearsal process.

In the “old” days, I would burn a CD for each section, and had students bring in CD boomboxes. For a period of two years, I had kids use Dell X5 Pocket PCs for sectionals with large iHome tubular speakers for sectionals. I have also used iPod Nanos and iPod Touches to achieve the same goal. Moving to iOS deviecs allowed for audio management with iTunes. Once you set an iOS device to import a specific playlist from iTunes, adding new files is as easy as dragging tunes to a playlist and syncing the iOS device. And now, with three iPads, we can start to do sectionals with iPads, and iPads make all the difference in the world. Not only can students control the music they hear, they can also see the actual music on the screen ! Again, special thanks to Chromatik, who donated an iPad to our program through their special offer.

Let me walk you through the process. First, I scan the song my choir is preparing. Truth be told, all of our music is already scanned–something we did through most of 2010. Most of our scanning was done page by page on a flatbed scanner. These days I scan music using a Canon P-150 scanner, a scanner that scans in duplex and about 1/100 of the time. Using a guillotine paper cutter, I cut a choral octavo so all the pages are loose and can be scanned in page order. The P-150 automatically adjusts the width of the scan to the width of the page–no cropping necessary. All of these PDFs are saved on Dropbox (referral link–if you sign up, we both get a bonus) so I have access to all our scores at all times.

Next, I take that scan and run it through a music recognition program–most frequently PhotoScore Ultimate. There are rare occasions where a piece doesn't scan well, but most of the time, the scan is 95-99% accurate. Then I export the PhotoScore file as a MusicXML file and move it to Finale, where I finish editing it. For an eight page octavo, it usually takes me an hour to clean up the score, move parts to a single line (most SAB scores put SA on the same line), remove dynamic markings, edit text (hyphenation is always messed up), and then recreate the Finale file from scratch and use the Clip feature in Finale to bring everything over.

Third, and this is a new step, I export the file to MusicXML and save it to Dropbox. I open that MusicXML file in the Dropbox app, and tell my iPad to open it Notion for the iPad. In Notion, I adjust some small items (for example, tempo markings, as Notion doesn't recognize a rit or a fermata). Then, using Notion's new export audio feature, I can save m4a files directly to Dropbox, manipulating the audio output with Notion's embedded mixer board (very easy to create a track where one part is dominant). As a result, I am able to create a high quality compressed audio track that works on all iOS devices in my Dropbox account at one time.

A moment of diversion: why not use Finale to generate these files? I used to do this, and it used to be my only option. If I do this on Finale, it requires more steps–and thus more time–to achieve the same goal. Additionally, the audio output of Finale is very low, meaning that I have to open up an audio editor such as Audacity to later increase the maximum volume of each track (this is true even when I have the base keystroke value set quite high, as well as Finale's mixer). I know MakeMusic is aware of the volume issue. And then, if I want to put the file on Dropbox, doing so from Finale requires a series of additional clicks. All that is a one-step process with Notion. So I use the programs in conjunction with each other.

At this point, all of the resources are ready. I have a PDF of the score, audio files that include a part-dominant track for each part, as well as an accompaniment only (or all voices) version. All of these resources are on Dropbox.

The next step is to put the resources on the school iPads. I have created a choir Dropbox account with a username and password I share with students. This means that only my students have access to these materials and I am not freely distributing them on the Internet. By sharing folders from my Dropbox account choir's Dropbox account, I can edit the contents of the folders on the choir's account by simply dragging items to my linked files on my personal account. So, if I have a women's choir folder on both accounts, I can drag a new file to that folder on my Dropbox account and it appears instantaneously in the choir account. It works like magic.

This is where forScore (you could also use unrealBook) comes into the discussion. I download the PDFs of each song from forScore's Dropbox interface. Then I use Dropbox to import the audio files to the computer that manages our iPads, and quickly add those files to the choir playlists (I have a playlist for each choir), and sync each iPad. At this point each PDF and each audio file is on our school iPads.

Within forScore, you can quickly link a song to a score. In my prep period, I decide which section will rehearse during the day, and I quickly edit the audio that is linked to each PDF (e.g. If the sopranos are going to rehearse, I link the soprano track).

During class, I send one section or two section to run sectionals, giving them specific expectations and a return time. They are given a portable speaker to use (usually a Boombucket (YouTube Video), but as I wrote yesterday, some Vers 2Qs are on their way). As a final step, I use iOS 6's “Guided Access Mode” to lock each iPad into forScore, and forScore alone. Students can put the devices to sleep, but cannot leave the program. In the days of using iPod Touches and iOS 4, students would take the devices and dink around with them during sectionals (going on Safari or playing with other apps)–Guided Access at least keeps them on task in the right program.

I also show my students other tools with forScore, such as the pitch pipe or piano–I've had iPads returned with the piano “activated,” so I know those tools are being used, too.

The truth is that my students don't ever see the time that is spent setting things up so that they can have a successful sectional without the need of a pianist–and that's okay. What is important is that this model works, and it works well. I'd certainly recommend it to others–even if you are going to record yourself playing (with an iPad?) in place of using Finale. My guess is that you will spend at least as much time recording and editing audio as it takes me to edit a score in Finale and export the audio through Notion for iPad.

Two other quick thoughts about scanning music into a notation program. First, I'm having some students edit scans I've brought into PhotoScore with MuseScore this year–to see if they can learn how to use the program and to do the “clean up” for me (ultimately, making their own resources). I can bring those cleaned up files right into Finale. Second, any Finale file can be used to make a SmartMusic assessment, and I cannot possibly communicate enough how powerful and wonderful that is. Of course, SmartMusic's primary focus is instrumental music–but it works wonderfully for choir if you create your own resources.

There are things that could be done by music publishers to make this entire process easier. They could make a PDF license for each song available, allowing you to legally reproduce as many PDFs for your program as you need. They could provide you with the MusicXML file for a song when you legally purchase it (removing dynamics, as I do, which makes it exponentially less useful for creating your own “performance copy”). And they could provide rehearsal tracks for free, like Carl Fischer/BriLee.

iPads–even 2-5 of them–can be a wonderful tool for your choir program. I'll make a point to write more about my iPad use in my teaching in the future. As with all “emerging” technologies–my use changes as the abilities of the device (more in regards to the abilities of the software) change and advance over time.

If anyone is looking to make a donation to a high school choir program, we could use two more iPads and three more Vers 2Qs.

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