The school that swapped its laptops for iPads… and wants to switch back

Found on PC Pro on Tuesday, 11 September 2012
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The reader, who asked not to be identified, is an ICT co-ordinator at a secondary school. He tells how his “image-conscious” headmaster was seduced by a scheme that allowed all the school’s staff to replace their laptop computers with an iPad 2.

“Some staff are needing to produce documents and resources by remoting in [to a PC] on an iPad,” our source reveals. “Trying to operate Microsoft Word using a remote app that dumps you out of the connection is a nightmare.”

“One of the biggest problems is the storage, since you can’t connect USB memory sticks to it,” our teacher writes, adding that staff are now experimenting with Dropbox to get documents on their tablets, which raises inevitable questions about data security.

It's not like this was impossible to test before they bought all the iPads. They could have borrowed a single one and hand it around so that everybody can see how limited they are as a replacement for a laptop or PC. Unfortunately, those in charge don't spend their own money.