Tablets!! No idea are they suitable for school work????

casey

Hi All,
I'm really stumped and not at all technical so would appreciate any advise. I have been to Tesco today with the intention of buying my daughter a laptop. Hers is about 7 years old and has finally given up the ghost.While I was there I spotted a particularly good deal on a Samsung Galaxy note (£318 with £50 cash back)
My question is ....will this be suitable for helping with school work? i.e can she produce and save documents.Can she send to a printer??
I know she would love it but don't want to part with the cash if it turns out its only used for games etc.
Many thanks,
Casey

cinderfella

Tablets are not computers as such & so are totally unsuitable for schoolwork.
Perhaps in 3 years time they may be ideal but not at the moment.:j

pavlovs_dog

You don't say how old she is, which would influence the type of homework she would receive. If she is old enough to have a laptop that is 7 years old, I'm guessing she is of secondary age.

I'm a secondary teacher and in my school we are currently investigating the viability of replacing our old laptops with tablets. Of the models tested so far, the Ipad and Nexus 10 seem to offer us the greatest scope whilst still being accessible to pupils across the age and ability spectrum.

Tablet technology is still in relevant infancy compared to notebooks and laptops. Personally I'd err on the side of caution and stick with a laptop/notebook if its prime function will be for help with homework.

pavlovs_dog

zaax wrote: »

You haven't a clue (though you should have). Just give her the money to buy one

Let's hope that, should you ever find yourself in a situation where you need help with something beyond your understanding/comfort zone, that others treat you with more compassion and consideration than you have shown the OP.

casey

You haven't a clue (though you should have). Just give her the money to buy
one

The point of me posting was for advice I really don't think this kind of reply is acceptable.If you don't have any thing usefull to say then please don't post

casey

Thankyou to everyone else for their helpful posts. My daughter is 14 (year 11). She would really need it for researching from the internet and then producing documents.Of course she would also use the other apps.I'm sure face book and games would appeal.

penrhyn

Schools often need students to run standard programmes like Word, Excel etc. It would be a good idea to have a word with daughter or the school about a minimum specification. That said any Windows Laptop would probably be suitable, would she be needing a printer or can work be submitted on memory stick?

O and forget about tablets, they are big boys and girls toys, not for serious work (puts tin hat on)

tonyh66

I would definitely go for a laptop, tablets are not used in schools (yet) and there is no really suitable software for her to do school work with. Get a laptop and don't forget to budget for the student edition of MS office. Whats the budget, check out the sub £350 laptops thread on here.

Lifeforms

You could potentially get away with it, but it would involve more hassle than if you were to sit at a desktop/laptop and just do it (write, print, research) Basically probably more than a 14 year old would be willing to be patient with.

So you wouldn't have to purchase things like Microsoft office/components, as there are suitable alternatives, but not necessarily direct/free equivalents. Print can be done by apps, or if your printer is already AirPrint-enabled. Other apps can be used with hit and miss print results sometimes. Browsing is pretty much the same tablet, or otherwise.

It's not ideal, but could be done. However to encourage a usually hated thing like homework, easier to just use something that will do it first time, every time, without having to go through hoops etc.

Also you wouldn't need to buy things like office, there are plenty of choice out there for desktop/laptops. Open office is one example, and google docs are quite reasonable for another one.

[Deleted User]

Think about it this way - would you rather spend several hours writing an essay/story on a 10" screen with a touchpad... or a 15" Laptop (which you could plug into a larger monitor also)

Go for a laptop - tablets are not a viable tool for homework. Notice how no-one in the business world has swapped using laptops for tablets

neilwoods

Firstly there numerous apps free and paid for that will handle microsoft office documents pefectly fine.

Not very practical for typing out long essays, but most tablets have bluetooth and there are quite a few bluetooth keyboards on the market, and cases for tablets with either usb or bluetooth keyboard built in.

So would depend on if there is any specific software the school needs to be used.

As for tablets not being used in business sector that is so far from the truth.