With tuition, textbook and supply prices on the rise, students need better solutions to the same old pattern of learning. Thanks to our ever-increasing technological society, students have more and more opportunities for this. Already, students are attending virtual classrooms online, downloading materials such as Power Point presentations and class notes and web chatting with their professors. But soon, students will have the opportunity to use technology to completely pursue their degrees in a way never thought possible by our parents.
Imagine not having to go to the bookstore to spend a grand on textbooks, notebooks, calculators, pens, USB drives and backpacks. Instead, you would carry around a single slate PC with a nice case. That’s it. Right now is the future and students don’t have to imagine it being possible. Currently, countless numbers of students within our nation’s universities are employing this technique. Even at MSU it is possible. Using an Electrovaya Scribbler 4000 purchased in 2008, I have been able to save more than what it originally cost me. No more heavy textbooks. No more wasting notebook paper. And no more book bags. Holding the light slate computer in your hand or on your desk is like using a glass notebook with everything at your fingertips. You have a stylus to write with that when flipped over becomes a virtual eraser. It truly is hard to describe, but writing on a slate beats a notebook or typing on a laptop anyday.
The slate computer has slowly been emerging in the public eye. Even when tablet PCs were released on platforms like Dell, HP and Sony, not many people knew about them, and if they did it was with some skepticism. With Apple releasing its iPad and bringing millions of consumers into the loop of possibility, companies have began to advertise their tablet PCs more and more. They have released models similar to the iPad in an attempt to bring over some of Apple’s fan base.
However, what they should be doing is marketing how much the iPad lacks in comparison to their slate PCs. The iPad is simply a unit that functions similar to its sister iTouch. It has no real storage or computer capabilities. Sure, it has apps, but where are the programs available on the Mac or PC? No Open Office, CS5, Microsoft Office, drives or Intel Core Duo Processor. All of these components are essential in providing a base for the student user to eliminate the traditional ‘school’ pattern.
On a slate tablet, PC users can access the Internet and download an e-Textbook, put their PowerPoint and notes in Microsoft OneNote and organize themselves in a way not possible with pen and paper. The program acts as a virtual notebook, capable of storing a years worth of notes. It includes different colors of pens and highlighters, bookmark tools to quickly search through your written and typed notes and basically allows you to put whatever you want in your own storage system.
Also on the frontier of programs is the virtual textbook and classroom. Within two years, E.O. Wilson Biodiversity plans to launch its 100 percent digital, 59-chapter textbook, Life on Earth. It provides users virtual models already seen in classrooms, along with guided tours through the cell and commentary by the scientists who actually discovered these amazing details. It isn’t simply learning about what some other scientist did, it is about interacting and understanding how they did it and how students can use that information to make their own discoveries using futuristic technology that is happening now.
But if your not in the market to get an Electrovaya Scribbler, there are several different brands on the market for your individual tastes and dozens more being released within the next year. These companies range from well-knowns like HP, Sony, Fujitsu, Sahara and Panasonic to small business companies like AIS, Notion and OpenPeak Inc.
For the most part, there are three types of tablets. The “convertible” has an attached keyboard allowing the user to swivel between slate and laptop configurations. The other two tablet styles lack a keyboard but differ by touch sensitivity. One is capable of complete touch access using fingertips and stylus while the other only works with a stylus. All three tablets usually come with fingerprint security and capabilities of altering between portrait and landscape views. With the new Windows 7 operating system and usually around 160-250 GB hard drive storage, the tablets compete with, if not surpass, their laptop counterparts.
In the Mac world however, there is not much buzz on a tablet version. A company called Modbook allows Macbook users to convert their beloved system into a tablet for a steep price, but otherwise, Mac seems to be focusing on the iPad world for now.
So don’t rush out next year and buy a $500 laptop when you know you still have to buy $800 worth of textbooks and another $400 in supplies. Instead, make an investment in the future with a tablet PC. At around two grand, it will pay for itself over the years and you will become more organized and connected to the ever increasing tech society.