Last summer, WCU was trying to strike a deal with Gateway. Essentially, Gateway was wanting to give WCU a great deal on Tablet PC's if WCU would require students to purchase Gateway Tablet PC's as part of a student requirement to attend WCU. The cost would be tossed into the tuition.
Some faculty were in firm support of this initiative because they claimed that if every student had a Tablet, then some amazing things could be done in the classroom, such as projecting whatever was on the students screen to the big screen in the front of the classroom. However, the faculty were fooling themselves into thinking this would be a good idea.
First, not all departments would benefit from this technology. There is absolutely not need for Tablets in the English department. A few of my classes met in the computer classroom. This room had 24 computers for students and a master computer for the teacher. It also was equipped with a projector. The professor was able to show any students desktop on the projector. This classroom was used by desktop publishing classes and very few writing classes. It was a very useful classroom, and there was never a need to require all English students to have Tablets while outside this computer classroom. English and History are two prime examples of majors that are mainly lecture based.
Second, there are plenty of classrooms that have one computer and projector, which would allow students to bring their reports, presentations, etc. to the class and show to the class.
Third, and most importantly, Tablet PC's are worthless technology. They do absolutely nothing that a laptop cannot do. Sure, they have the cute ability to write on them with a stylus, but everyone knows that you type way faster than you can write. Imagine for a moment that you are writing on a Tablet. First, you write slower than you type. Second, if your handwriting isn't perfect, the Tablet will misread your writing, which would cause you to waste time by going back and correcting what you wrote.
Another argument for being able to use the stylus was that you could draw on them. Woopty-do.
Fourth, the Tablet PC is built around a hinge. How absurd is this? Laptops have hinges that allow them to go up and down. The Tablet PC has a complicated hinge that allows it to move up and down, and then twist. I don't trust such a hinge because the hinges on laptops eventually wear out. How much sooner will a Tablet's hinge die! I also reject my former supervisor's argument that the hinges won't wear out very fast because computers are much better built these days. Bull! That's what everyone ALWAYS says about technology and computers, and yet, we are constantly led to believe otherwise through experience. I have known at least three Dell laptop users (myself, Ben, and Ruff). One of those is dead, mine is in need of repair to be usable, and the other isn't in perfect condition despite the delicate care of its owner. So why would I believe hype instead of experience?
Tablet PC's do nothing a laptop cannot, they are built around a dangerously fragile swivel, and give no new experiences other than five minutes of doodling, and they really grind my gears.
3 comments:
They are pretty lame. They'll never catch on.
While I agree with some of your first points, I must contend the others.
Dell laptops are built quite poorly; they're practically the only ones I ever hear about breaking or wearing out quickly. It's deceptive for you to compare these tablet laptops with Dell laptops as they are made by two different manufacturers.
Also, you quickly brush off the idea of using the tablet for drawing: "Another argument for being able to use the stylus was that you could draw on them. Woopty-do."
It's true that a lot of tablet PCs are marketed towards business professionals wanting to write notes instead of typing them--which I think is a little ridiculous too--but most tablets (separate ones that connect to computers) are used and designed for graphic artists to create digital paintings and renderings. (like this: http://omonteon.deviantart.com/gallery/ or this http://crazyharij.deviantart.com/gallery/).
But getting a tablet that functions as a laptop is even better.
Just some counterpoints to consider. Try not to be too quick to criticize, there may be some aspects to things you're not aware of.
Brent:
Sure, Dell laptops are built poorly. But Gateways are too. I have no faith in either company making me a laptop or a tablet PC.
I admit in my post that you can draw on a tablet notebook, and I even say that if WCU required tablet PC's that so few departments would fully utilize the technology. I say that it is unnecessary to demand that all new students pay for a tablet PC when only a few would benefit. So I'm not sure why you are arguing with me on that point. Perhaps you didn't understand the context of my post?
It is now September of 2008 and I still believe that tablets PC's are a bad idea for the mainstream college crowd. Only a few people would benefit from this technology if it were required of all college students at WCU.
On a personal note, I am not quick to criticize in this blog. I think quite a bit about my topics before I post them. If there is -ever- something that I am unaware of, and someone tells me, I am man enough to change my opinion if new facts are strong enough. I'm not a stick in the mud :P
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