I agree that the I-pod/MP3 players, that have a screen of about 4-5" are much too small for our school. They easily fit in a pocket and therefore could be stolen with ease. Also, these are very hard to see in a learning environment due to the smaller text and cannot fit entire paragraphs onto the screen. They could be hard for younger children to keep track of due to size and they may be misplaced often.
The medium sized devices, with screen 6-7" are still easily portable and easy to hold, even with one hand. An example is the Kindle. They are easier to read, being able to fit more text on a page.
A large size device with screens 8-11" are not as portable and are harder to hold, especially for younger children. They cannot be held in one hand. They are therefore easier to drop and may therefore have more maintenance issues. The text with these devices are much easier to view. They would be much harder to store because of their size.
The options for medium sized devices we will consider are the different i-pads. The i-pad 2 and the i-pad 4 each have different amounts of storage in GB, 16,32 and 64. Apple i-pads are easy to use and are easier to use applications that can be downloaded to perform certain functions. I-pads have the best accessibility to eBooks. They are well-known for the movie/tv/video selection and are downloaded easily. The cost of i-pads start $399 and increase depending on the options you choose. One con is the batteries are not replaceable and new tablets would have to be purchased.
The Android, google offers the Kindle,Barnes and Noble Nook Book and android tablets. Google has a strong CPU and reasonable rates for Cellular service. Barnes and Noble offers most selection of books to download. They however, have the lowest amount of storage at 32 GB.
Windows, Microsoft, offers Surface Windows RT and Surface Windows 8 Pro. Their experience creating a tablet is fairly new. They are more known for their software. These devices come with Microsoft Office already included.
In discussing the Pros and Cons of each of these devices, we have to consider what the devices will mainly be used for and for what age group. Apple is the best option if we want our students to be able to use for downloading usage. Windows would be best for students to use to blog and create documents. Android and Google are best for reading exercises. My partner and I both agree that the Apple is our choice for purchase. It has multitudes of uses and are very compatible and easy to use.
Some of you were interested in a cellular device. These devices have to have connection to a cellular phone tower in order to operate online functions. It must be something built in to the device we choose because it is not something that may be added later. It would require a contract with a monthly charge to a cellular company which would increase the cost.
Reasonable discussion.
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