Bowdoin College giving all students an iPad Pro (w/ cellular), Apple Pencil, and Magic Keyboard ($1,377 total) as students to start semester online

[avg123]

 

Summary

 

Students will receive an Apple iPad Pro with available Wi-Fi and cellular data connectivity (activated and covered by the College for those students who have internet connectivity needs), an Apple Pencil 2, and the Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad, which includes a trackpad.

All interested faculty members and the staff who support teaching and learning will receive iPads that use Wi-Fi only to connect to the internet.

Cato says the iPad Pro model was chosen for its overall functionality—coming closest to a laptop experience while including built-in cellular internet for students who need it—and because apps for the iPad are much more universally available.

He also cited the Pro’s superior camera and processing power to support video conferencing, recording, and editing.

 

Quotes

Quote

While some students may already have iPads, the intent behind providing the latest model is to ensure consistency of experience, whereby students will have the same access to fall 2020 online classroom activities, some of which will have been designed specifically for this unified platform.

“Bowdoin-issued iPads will be able to run all of the applications the College licenses for this platform without students having to buy them on their own,” says Cato.

Additionally, this latest iPad platform has an array of assistive features to better serve students with vision, hearing, mobility, or learning needs.

 

My thoughts

Apple: Whats a computer?

 

Sources

https://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2020/07/bowdoin-to-provide-ipads-to-all-students-during-pandemic.html

[Sauron]

Why is this tech news? A private college decides to waste money on overpriced products and we care because...?

[Ashleyyyy]

2 minutes ago, avg123 said:

My thoughts

Apple: Whats a computer?

you relaize these are actually very capable? now yes would it make more sense for the college to just give everyone a base model macbook air? of course, but still, the ipads aren't bad. 

[ImAlsoRan]

2 minutes ago, Ashley said:

you relaize these are actually very capable? now yes would it make more sense for the college to just give everyone a base model macbook air? of course, but still, the ipads aren't bad. 

It makes sense for a college campus. The iPad is a fantastic machine, but it's not a desktop replacement. That's it's greatest strength. With a laptop, you don't spontaneously pull it out and write a quick note. You gotta pull it out of your bag, open it, type your password, wait for it to unlock, open Sticky Notes/Word, and type it out, whereas with an iPad you just pick it up, look at it, and you're in. Apps open quickly, and I'm pretty sure there's a feature where you just use your Apple pencil on the lock screen and it automatically makes a note, but don't quote me on that. That's why it's great for college. Very few classes will require students to run a Windows-only app, and even that won't be a big issue with how UTM is looking.

[DrMacintosh]

I'd rather have that $1,377 taken off my tuition. But this university is the type that charges in-person price for online classes so....

[ImAlsoRan]

Just now, VegetableStu said:

I can already hear apple's pent up hand-rubbing for their ARM macbook announcement

It's not an issue of performance, it's an inherent issue of OS design. It's designed very good for "work sessions" where you know your intentions and you plan to be on the computer continuously, but it's not the greatest for the spontaneous type of work that seems to take place nowadays.

[Ashleyyyy]

3 minutes ago, ImAlsoRan said:

It makes sense for a college campus. The iPad is a fantastic machine, but it's not a desktop replacement. That's it's greatest strength. With a laptop, you don't spontaneously pull it out and write a quick note. You gotta pull it out of your bag, open it, type your password, wait for it to unlock, open Sticky Notes/Word, and type it out, whereas with an iPad you just pick it up, look at it, and you're in. Apps open quickly, and I'm pretty sure there's a feature where you just use your Apple pencil on the lock screen and it automatically makes a note, but don't quote me on that. That's why it's great for college. Very few classes will require students to run a Windows-only app, and even that won't be a big issue with how UTM is looking.

you realize that even my stone age macbook pro is a lot faster for this than you make it out to be? i can literally open it, touchtype my password in 2 seconds, it unlocks from sleep instantly, with my hands still on the keyboard i can just command space for spotlight and open notes and start typing. a modern macbook would be even faster fro this because touchid, i have to be oldschool and actually type a password in. 

 

also an iPad as a computer is meh, because it's still running iOS apps rather than actual desktop apps. i know that if i was a student i'd be pretty dissapointed that i was getting this and not a base model macbook air which is much more capable as a computer, because it is a computer, and costs $300 less. like the iPad isn't bad, but the macbook is just better if you need a computer. because it is a computer. 

[captain_to_fire]

26 minutes ago, avg123 said:

My thoughts

Apple: Whats a computer?

It is a computer as it has a processor, memory, GPU, and storage 

 

13 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

I can already hear apple's pent up hand-rubbing for their ARM macbook announcement

This might be the perfect time for Apple to flex their chip muscle as rumors point out that around Fall they’re planning to launch a 13” MacBook Pro with an Apple Silicon. 

 

 At the moment, iOS apps written using Catalyst are running natively on the DTK with A12Z which might ease some of the app gap.