Tag: Google

Posted in Uncategorized

Using the Cloud–The Real Deal.

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

As a follow-up to my post about the scamming/hacking attack I had two weeks ago, this week I’m turning TechCommGeekMom.com over to a good friend of mine, Shay Shaked. We first met in grad school at NJIT as classmates, and have been friends ever since. Shay is more of a technology geek than even I am, so when my system got hacked two weeks ago by the phone scammers, he was one of the people who offered me some good advice and pointers along the way to my laptop recovery. I asked him if he would share some of the wisdom that he’s shared with me with my TechCommGeekMom readers, and he said, “Of course!” Here is TechCommGeekMom’s first guest post! It’s a little long, but I encourage you to read the entire thing– good stuff!

–TechCommGeekMom

Two weeks ago, TechCommGeekMom fell victim to the hands of a malicious scammer who managed to access her computer remotely by talking her into believing he was actually a Microsoft employee. The scammer was smart, confident, and very efficient. Reading through her post sent shivers down my spine (as a matter of fact, I am backing up my files as I’m writing this post) and made me realize that we are all vulnerable, especially these days, when technology is everywhere and computers have to be used on a daily basis.

TechCommGeekMom was able to recover rather quickly. The first thing she did was to share her experience with us, so we could all learn from what happened. She also shared a few tips about security of private information, and asked me if I would like to expand and talk in length in this post.

Today, security does not have to come at the price of convenience–quite the opposite. I have switched between four different computers in the last five years, and the transition to the cloud made each switch easy and painless. But the real benefit of cloud apps, I’ve discovered, is in added productivity. I am going to introduce some of the popular cloud services (and some less well-known ones) from the perspective of a paperless, digital person. I hope that when you’re done reading this post you will at least be convinced to give these apps a try, if you haven’t already.

Google Drive

Google Drive’s most important feature, in our case, is its ability to replace Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and even Access, for free. Throughout my time as a graduate student on a tight budget, I calculated I could do more than 90% of my work using Google Drive’s documents.

Google Documents now features two additional important features that makes it even more effective. It has an offline mode, which allows one to create and edit files even without internet connection. It also has a research pane which allows you to research your topic (via a search term on Google) from inside the document, and add whatever reference one may find directly into the document’s reference list in APA style.

Google gives users 5GB of free space to begin with, and documents created inside Google Drive do not take any room. This includes small pictures included in saved documents, such as background for presentations, mugshots, or logos. Additionally, Google Drive makes sharing or sending files to other people incredibly easy, even if they do not have a Google account! Documents can even be sent from within Google Drive as an attachment (.doc, .docx, .pdf and more) directly to an email address without downloading anything, so no obnoxious email attachment on your end.

Evernote

As great as Google Drive is, it is not the best place to upload files and scanned documents. Google Drive’s interface is still too clumsy to be used for organization, and I often need t search for what I need. For scanned documents and quick notes, I use Evernote.

In my opinion, Evernote is the best place for PDF files. Evernote’s excellent tagging system, flexible folders and powerful search (which can read texts from inside images) is exactly what’s missing from Google Drive’s system. I use it to save anything from receipts (using my phone to take snapshots) to a copy of my driver license (I will explain how I protect sensitive documents shortly). It is extremely easy to email documents directly from the app to someone’s email.

Evernote comes in a free version which allows users to upload up to 60MB per month, or a paid version that allows up to 1GB per month with many additional benefits. I have used the free version for a while and never ran out of space allowance.

Important information tip 1:

One of the best ways to protect your personal information is to keep it separate from your “public” information. It just so happens that Evernote and Google Drive create this separation for me automatically: anything that I need to share, publish, or have others edit and work on, is on Google Drive, while all my personal documents and more sensitive information is stored in Evernote. This means your personal files are stored under different username and a different password (because you do use different credentials for each website, right??)

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Adobe Reader is mentioned here because the newest versions come with a very simple, yet powerful feature: the ability to sign your name electronically directly into the PDF file. In the past, I had to download the PDF file, print it, sign it, scan it, and then send it back as an attachment. Not any more. Today I open my PDF file, sign my name, save it (to Evernote) and send it. Done.

Information tip 2:

When you’re not sure what kind of file to send your document in, use a PDF file. If you don’t know what Word version the HR department has, or you want to make sure your resume looks on their screen exactly the same way it looks on yours, send a PDF. PDF files also happen to be the easiest to open, encrypt (protect with a password) and are the industry standard for scanned papers and official documents online. Make sure you have the most recent version of Adobe Reader installed and save yourself the headache.

FoxyUtils

FoxyUtils is a website that does one important thing: it protects your PDF with a password. Upload a file to FoxyUtils, and choose to restrict the file from opening, printing, and copying its context to the computer’s clipboard (which means, no copy-pasting). FoxyUtils also allows users to split one multi-paged PDF into several PDF files, or do the opposite by combining several PDF files into one big PDF file.

Information tip 3:

I believe my personal information is safer inside a password protected PDF on a protected server in a locked building than it is in a drawer at my desk. If you’re serious about using the cloud to store your files and using PDFs, I recommend buying Adobe Acrobat (not just the free reader), which comes with additional features, most notably, better encryption. Keep in mind though that if you password protect your file, programs such as Evernote won’t be able to read its content and make it searchable, as it would with non-protected files.

Hardware – The Non-Cloud stuff for the Cloud

1 – Scanner

Most people would assume an external hard drive with good encryption is the best and safest way to store sensitive documents. In my opinion, that’s a bad mistake to make. The most important thing to consider about your information safety is a scanner.

If you don’t already have one, you can probably find an all-in-one printer (a printer, scanner fax and copier) for a price tag of less than $50. Most printers also ship with software that allows users to quickly convert scanned documents into PDFs, but even without such software, users can quickly upload a file into Google Drive and download it as a PDF if needed.

Information tip 4:

Why a scanner? Because prevention is the best form of protection. Your computer should never store your important documents, and an external hard drive with these documents available is nothing but an extension of your computer. You might as well just glue a glowing sticker to it saying, “My most important information is in here!” Remember, when you store sensitive documents on your computer you’re not only putting yourself at risk, but also others whose information is on these documents as well.

2 – The Backup External Hard Drive

The second device you want to have available is an external hard drive for backups. There are two very important rules when it comes to backup hard drives. First, don’t use the backup hard drive for anything else but backups. Second, don’t use the backup hard drive for anything else but backups.

Your external hard drive should be connected to your computer periodically to store files that are either in the cloud already, or on the way to get there. It is a secondary stop; it is an emergency storage in case you have no connection to the internet–like an airplane black box. And, it should be treated that way. Do not use this hard drive to store anything else under any circumstances.

Why am I so strict about this? Because the second you start using your backup hard drive to store music, movies and pictures, it is the second it ceases to be an “in case of emergency” black box and becomes an entertainment storage unit. Soon after, you will start to taking it to work, and your crucial information will be moving along with you in a storage unit that isn’t meant to handle traveling. You could actually severely damage your hard drive by shaking it too hard, not to mention, forgetting it or losing it. Leave it at home on your computer desk, where it belongs.

Information tip 5:

Not storing personal information on your computer means not storing it on your backup hard drive either. If you use a cloud service that downloads files into your computer (like Dropbox), do not use this cloud service for your sensitive information. Remember, your information is and more available on the cloud.

Information tip 6:

A couple of years ago someone came up with the genius invention: a USB drive. To this day, despite the millions of cloud services out there available, there is no more reliable and simple way to keep files you need. An 8GB USB drive is available today for less than $20 (and you can probably get one for less than $10 if you don’t need so much room). That size is enough to store about 2000 songs, or about 7 high-definition movies. Never store your sensitive information on a USB drive! If you need to send someone sensitive information, make sure it’s in encrypted PDF file, and send it directly from the cloud.

Private Information Hard Drive

No matter how secure the cloud is, some information is simply too private. In that situation, I suggest getting an additional, smaller hard drive that can be easily carried and encrypted. A good example for a hard drive for traveling is Western Digital My Passport line. These hard drives do not require a separate AC connection and built with less movable parts that can get damaged. They are also small and light enough to fit in your pocket. Do not mix this private information with your other personal information. Your driver license, passport and tax returns do not belong there.

Shredder

No home-office today is complete without a shredder. No matter how technology savvy and paperless person you are, chances are that some company (especially bank and utility companies) still insist on sending paper statements. These are dangerous and can lead to identity theft if not disposed of correctly. Do yourself a favor and spend the $30 or so on a simple shredder. Not only will you feel safer, you will also save room in your trash bin and become more recycle-friendly. Get rid of any copies of documents you have laying around. After all, a new copy can always be printed .

Some Final Words of Advice

These suggestions are probably not the only ones out there, but they are based on years of personal trial and error experience. Each one of the apps mentioned have many more features than what is covered in this post.

One area not mentioned as it would require a whole blog post to itself is smartphone security. Smartphones, if used correctly, can be an additional security measure and a crucial addition to cloud capabilities, especially if the goal is to go completely paperless. Investing in a smartphone doesn’t have to be expensive, and it can save users a lot of time and frustration.

Use your brain. Learn to create hard-to-guess passphrases, and remember to change them periodically. Most hackers out there still use brute-force methods to break passwords, which means they would use a software to guess any possible combination of letters and numbers until they get it right. If you use a 20-character passphrase, you are probably much safer than using a 4-digit pin number. Wipe out your computer regularly, and restore your files from your backups. This will not only make your computer safer, it would also keep it faster and free from malicious software. Protect your computer with a screensaver password, so every time you get up from your computer and leave it for more than 5 minutes, it would require a password to resume using it. Never store any passwords in your web browser–you would be shocked to know how accessible these passwords are. Create a guest account on your computer and log out of your account before handing it out to a friend, a coworker or your children–especially your children. Children are smarter than you think and they will snoop around, out of curiosity.

I hope this post was useful to you! If you have any questions, suggestions or any words of feedback, feel free to contact me at my blog, blog.shayshaked.com.

Shay Shaked is an aspiring teacher and educator, specializing in technology and special education. He is currently a teacher at the innovative New Shul School in NYC, and pursuing two Masters degrees, one at NJIT in Technical Communications, and the other at Touro College in Special Education. Shay is also a personal communication and health enthusiast, and blogs about these topics at his blog, blog.shayshaked.com, on Twitter as @blueeyednyc, and on Google Plus.

Posted in Uncategorized

Digital Tablets for Kids–Child’s Play, or should we take it seriously?

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

Just within the last month or so, I’ve been made aware of two tablet computers made for especially kids–and ones that weren’t something like a glorified LeapFrog or VTech toy. There is a place for LeapFrog and VTech-type tablets for the preschool/early elementary school set, but the ones I list below were recent ones that I became aware of targeting the grammar school demographic.

The first one I saw was the Tabeo tablet. I read about it in the following CNET article:

Toys ‘R’ Us unwraps $150 Tabeo tablet for Kids

The Tabeo, according to the article, is an Android-based tablet that includes drop-safe bumpers, wi-fi, and parental controls, and will only be available through this toy selling-enterprise.

The other kids’ tablet that I came across (and I don’t remember how–perhaps watching TV with TechCommGeekSon?) is called the Meep Tablet, which is being released by Oregon Scientific.

You can find the product website here:

Meep Tablet

It, too, is a tablet that runs on an Android OS, has drop-safe bumpers, wi-fi, and parental controls, and it appears that it is sold only through Oregon Scientific.

What would be appealing about these tablets, which are targeted for the ages 6 and up crowd? Part of the appeal would be the price– about $150 for either tablet. Yes, the parental controls and such are nice features–no denying that, but what else? Neither item has much memory, and if kids are going to use these tablets for games, then they need a lot more memory than what a first generation iPhone had. While memory cards can be added, why go to those lengths? Why not just put decent memory chips in the devices in the first place?

Being that I’m an m-learning TechCommGeekMom, I also tried to think about how such devices would be good at a school setting. Could they be used in a school setting? I suppose they could be on some level, and it’d be a decent investment for a school at just $150 a pop. Schools could control the content, using the parental controls. The bumpers used to protect the devices would allow for some longevity for the devices as well. The devices still have video and web cameras, and are still wi-fi enabled. Since they run on a version of Android, they could download Android apps.

But is buying either of these devices worthwhile? Since only the Meep in available now, and the Tabeo is coming out in a few weeks, we’ll have to see what the big reviews say. I wouldn’t mind reviewing them myself if I could get a hold of each of these, so in the meantime, I can only go by what each manufacturer has promoted.

But in thinking about the age group of “6 and up”, and thinking about my own son and how I would want to invest money in a tablet for him (if he wasn’t usually borrowing my iPad), why would I bother to get a kiddie version that’s barely expandable or that could be updated with later software, and had more memory?

My first thoughts turn to the idea of the rumored iPad mini. Oh, if that was out there (and I had the cash), I’d buy that in an instant for my son. Why? Well, first of all, it’s no secret that I LOVE my iPad. I love the variety of apps available–both educational and for games for him. Since he has to use my iTunes account to download apps (and I don’t give him my password), I can supervise what  goes on the device and what doesn’t. That seems like parental control to me. I would be able to use the “Find iPhone” app to track him as well, as needed. It also would much more internal memory, I should think, than what the Meep or Tabeo is offering. Even if it only had a 8GB or 16 GB memory, that’s better than the base memory offering of Meep or Tabeo. Additionally, there are already school programs out there using iPads, so adapting to iPad minis would be an easy transition for many schools, and be easy for kids to use due to its smaller size for smaller hands.

This leads my thought stream into thinking about Nexus 7 tablets, Nook HD tablets, Samsung Galaxy or Kindle Fire HD tablets. Why not get those for a child? They are smaller Android-based tablets as well, right?  Well, the prices tags are a little higher, that’s for sure. In most situations, however, several of these tablets are not THAT much more money, and yet there would be more flexibility in these devices.  I was just even reading a rumor that Microsoft’s Surface tablet may come in a variety that’s in the $200 range. Talk about flexibility compared to some other tablets, even if it’s still more of a PC than a tablet! Why wouldn’t a parent invest in that type of tablet instead, knowing that there are more apps, more downloadable programs, and more memory with these machines?

Business Insider recently posted this article comparing tablets, and it’s worth a read:

The Only 7 Tablets Worth Buying Right Now

Of course, my money is on the hopefully impending iPad mini. But even if that never comes to fruition, these other tablets provide some good bang for your bucks.  I think cheap childproofing bumpers and kid-friendly can be found on eBay and other retailers, if that’s a concern. But I see these other mainstream tablets being a better investment, as they can grow and upgrade with your child better than one “made for children”.

My child is part of the demographic that the child tablets are targeting. He’s now 11, and is a very different child than when he was 7, 8 or 9 years old. His tastes and needs have changed in just a few short years. Heck, he’s even upgraded his Nintendo DS two times in the last three years, because he wanted better memory and flexibility with the DS apps offered, as well as more powerful hardware. He might not put it in those terms, but even he knows the game. (No pun intended there!)  Looking at tablets for growing kids should be looked at the same way–a tablet, for the investment, should be able to grow with the child, and a regular tablet would better suit those needs. With a regular tablet, not only would there be personal flexibility with games and apps, but more opportunities to use it for educational purposes–for homework, classwork, etc.

And that’s TechCommGeekMom’s take on that. If some manufacturer wants to send me one to be put through the TechCommGeekSon wringer, or if someone has had a different experience with a made-for-kids tablet, let me know. I’d be glad to share your experiences in a post here.

Posted in Uncategorized

“Hey Mom, you’re a TechComm celebrity!”

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

(Taken from ElloHollywood blog) Yes, that’s what my son said to me when I discovered something today, and showed it to him. He is a kid who is being raised in a fairly technologically adept home (Mom is a technical communicator, and Dad is an internet developer who specializes in e-learning and LMS programming), so he knows who Adobe is and he knows that if something is on the Internet, it’s the equivalent of what it was like to see one’s own name in the newspaper as a kid, or seeing oneself on TV.

In this case, I discovered this at the bottom of Adobe’s Technical Communications Suite 4 page:

Can you see what I’m referring to? Let’s take a closer look in the Resources section:

Yes, that’s right! My preview of TCS4 is listed as an Adobe RESOURCE!

I’m thrilled and excited about this. It’s no secret that I was happy to see my article included in Adobe’s consolidated list of TCS 4 reviews (mine is fourth in the list) on Adobe’s blog, but to see my preview on the MAIN Tech Comm Suite page just blows my mind.

THANK YOU, ADOBE!

It would certainly explain how suddenly there was a huge surge in hits on this website in the past week. This week, I hit some fairly big milestones (at least in my eyes) with this blog as far as the number of hits it’s received. I hope that anyone reading becomes a regular follower. I do my best to provide both original content as well as curated content that relates to technical communications, e-learning and m-learning, so I hope that anyone new stays tuned, and lets me know how I’m doing, or if there’s anything they’d like to see discussed here.

Thank you one and all for your continued support– more to come soon!

Posted in Uncategorized

What are you so afraid of?

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

It seems to me that lately there have been a lot of articles posted around the Web about higher education being afraid of using technology.  I suppose that since I received my recent Master’s degree entirely online from an accredited university, I’m somewhat oblivious to that fact, but I can see why that would be thought, based on the various arguments made.

Bringing technology into the classroom, let alone have distance learning via e-learning or even m-learning, is still a bit of a foreign thing even now, despite the fact that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were working on getting computers into classrooms as much as 30 years ago. (Time flies!).  Part of the problem is that there are many educators who are a little intimidated by technology. Yes, computers–as just mentioned–have been available in the classroom for decades in one form or another, but not everyone has learned to take advantage of that.  Why?

One of the obvious reasons is cost.  Computers–whether desktops, laptops, tablets, or even smart devices (like an iPod touch, NintendoDS, etc.), are not cheap. Trust me–we have at least one of each of those types of devices in my house, and I know how much we spent to have them.  Even with the movement to promote BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), not everyone can afford to have the latest and greatest gadget. Technology, these days, evolves very quickly, so it’s hard to keep up with the latest devices and tools. (This is why I’m always happy to hear of endeavors made to try to supply simple computing devices that are made cheaply to supply to children in far flung places in Africa, South America and Asia where such resources are scarce.)

Even so, I think the reason that many in higher ed and other educational levels don’t use more technology to teach is basically because they don’t know how.  I’ll give you an example.

My father was the first one to introduce me to computers a little bit more than 30 years ago when I was a kid. The Apple II had come around, and my father–a lifelong educator–found himself trying to support a family with four kids (me being the oldest of them) and having a very difficult time finding a job due to budget cuts happening left and right.  He found computers interesting, and realized that if computers were to become prolific, then maybe he could segueway his teaching skills into teaching adults how to use VisiCalc and basic word processing programs in business. In other words, he would move into the training and development business. But once he got a job back in the traditional educational field, while he did stay involved in computers, and even got to a point where he was not only a curriculum administrator but teaching night courses as well–he’d teach computing for a while, but it was never major advances. To this day, he’ll call up either me up or talk to my developer husband if he has computer issues. I don’t think other than teaching computing for a short time, that he really ever used technology in the classroom much. Sure, “Oregon Trail” was used, and maybe “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?“, but beyond that, even when he was officially retired and teaching history courses at the local community college, beyond the use of email, I don’t know that he necessarily used technology for those courses.  History classes can be very dry subjects (I ought to know, being a history major as an undergrad), but so much history is available online to make it come alive–with video and images alone.

Even in my own online grad courses, I could see where the staff knew things to a point, but then some would show their limitations of what they knew of the outside world and what tools were available to them, and this was a group that was generally more willing to use technology as well. One professor posted all the coursework on Moodle in one folder instead of using the features to the fullest to disseminate information. He may as well just have photocopied everything, stuck it in a manila folder, and handed the materials out willy-nilly instead. I see these as hugely missed opportunities for both my dad and this professor.

My taekwondo teacher taught me something years ago, which I know has been repeated elsewhere: the best way to learn is to teach.  From my own experience, this is not only true in taekwondo, but also for just about anything else in the rest of the world. Teachers–whether they be training specialists at a company, or preschool teachers, or anyone else in the educational field in between–need to continue to learn and grow themselves in order to be effective teachers, especially in this day and age. Technology is a lot less scary and more intuitive than it was 30 years ago, or even 10 years ago, and people forget that very quickly.  If teachers are expected to help turn out students who can contribute towards future growth, how can they do that if they don’t keep up? Yes, there are some older tried-and-true methods that still work and will always work.  But to create a future where everyone from the littlest preschooler to the adult learner contributes in a way that pulls us all forward–teachers need to keep up.

Mobile learning provides a fantastic and easy opportunity to do this, no matter what subject a teacher teaches, or what level. Tablets and smartphones are more prolific these days than even desktops or laptops, so whether a school district provides those tools, or a student brings it from home, it’s a portal to a world of opportunity. The use of whiteboards in the classroom make a huge difference–I know I remember hearing that my son enjoyed and seemed to respond better in classes if whiteboards were used.  As it’s been mentioned many times before, education is undergoing a bit of a revolution, because 19th century ways of teaching aren’t working well in the 21st century.  Life and business are conducted very differently and on a grander global scale than even 100 years ago, or even 10-15 years ago.  Social media and Web 2.0 tools are changing how we communicate and work with each other, especially in real-time.  And yet, having these tools can enable all of us as students of the worlds to learn more.  I guess I don’t know why some are so afraid of trying out the many technologies or applications out there that can work to advance our common knowledge.

You see, in my head, I can imagine how all these different subjects can use mobile technology or other e-learning tools.  You have a Social Studies class? How about asking students to find online newspapers to look at the world in other countries? Or using online libraries or resources to find information? What about doing a short project about looking up records on Ancestry.com to learn about World history and how their families may have come to this country? Science–so many scientific journals out there to access. English language and grammar? Many blogs and websites covering those topics, as well as many works of literature have been converted into videos or movies. Math? Check out Khan Academy or similar sites, and see if a flipped classroom curriculum works more. Physical education? Plenty of websites about sports, health, fitness out there. Foreign languages? Watch Japanese TV, Mexican soap operas or Italian news on YouTube. Google, Bing and other search sites are your friend as well as your students’ friend.

There is one last resource for teachers of higher ed or other educational institutions to learn more, and it harkens back to my taekwondo instructor’s words. Learn from your students. They are usually more up to date on what’s going on with all the devices. Why not ask them for suggestions, or learn how to use tools from them? Recently, I remember showing a professor of mine how to use hashtags on Twitter to start getting more involved in topics that she was interested in researching and find other Twitter users that shared common interests on that outlet. While she understood the concepts behind Twitter, she didn’t know that one could search by hashtags within Twitter, and so she learned how to use a social media tool that she was familiar with in a different way. I was glad that I was able to show that to her, and I’m sure going forward that it’s something she may pass along to her other students and colleagues as well.

Also, don’t be afraid of asking colleagues who are tech savvy as well. If they are enthusiastic about using technology in the classroom, they are usually more willing to share those ideas with someone else who shares that enthusiasm.

In the end, we can all benefit from each other in helping each other learn technology, but educators need to take special attention because in helping themselves learn about technology and using technology, they will help their students as well.

So, what are you so afraid of? Start looking in the App Store, You Tube and Google, and see what you can find. You might be surprised. Every little bit of knowledge helps to advance you and your students.

Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below.

And if there are any teachers (on any level) that would like some extra help…let me know.

Posted in Uncategorized

iPads and Surface and Nexus…oh my!

Posted on by TechCommGeekMom

With the announcement of the new Windows Surface tablet coming out later in 2012, the new Nexus tablet coming out as well, and the rumors of an iPad mini possibly coming out in the fall, it’s made me think about what this all means in terms of “what device would be best?” especially for m-learning and other mobile applications.

First, I need to clarify that when it comes to technological devices, I’m generally torn. I’m all for having variety and such– it’s what makes market competition possible, but at the same time, each thing has its benefits and place, and it’s like comparing apples to broccoli. It’s no secret that I love my iPad. I got it almost a year ago after owning my iPhone for a couple of years. At the time, my husband retorted, “What do you need that for? It’s just a toy, if anything.” Or IS IT?

When I was doing my graduate studies, all I could think about what how I could use it for my own studying purposes, and I did several projects centered around the idea of using iPads for flipped classrooms or even classroom use, and based much of my experiences of what mobile learning is between my iPad and iPhone. I love the flexibility of the devices, and how lean and mean they are in how they operate.  Like many students out there with tablet devices, I read articles and e-books, I wrote up assignments and papers, did my research– did most everything I could with my iPad. The downside? Well, I didn’t have 4G on my iPad, so sometimes having web access was limited, but it wasn’t anything that bad that couldn’t wait until I did have connectivity, or until I got home and could use my laptop or the wi-fi at home. (There are 3G and 4G versions available–I just didn’t want to shell out the extra cash for that ability.) And until I had my wireless keyboard, doing all those papers and assignments could get a little rough.

At the same time, while I have an iPhone and an iPad, I can’t say that I’ve been totally sold on the idea of getting an iMac of some flavor. I love my PC laptops. While the last Apple computer I used was an Apple IIc about a million years ago (be quiet! I was a kid back then–really!), my entire IT existence both professionally and personally has always been on a PC. Yes, I’ve experienced the blue screen of death several times, and had numerous crashes over the years, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed unless the hard drive was dying. Until I got my iPad, my laptop went with me on vacation or whenever I was away from home. Even writing these blog posts is easier on my laptop than using my WordPress app on my iPad. Ninety-eight percent of my online degree was done on my PC laptop– the other 2% was on my iPad. I’ve owned 3 laptops in the last ten years, and had at least two or three PC desktops for years before that. So yes, I’m a devout Microsoft geek as well.

So when I heard that Microsoft had finally come out with a tablet they were going to release, I had to find out more. I thought that it would be helpful to understand what the Microsoft Surface tablet was all about, and was hoping that it would work well in the future for single-sourcing initiatives. I felt like the Microsoft presentation and reviews I was seeing online was just mirrors and smoke, and after three iPads having been in the market now, why a Microsoft tablet now? Was it worth me getting one, as if I were to abandon my iPad for…heaven forbid…something else?

On a recent weekend jaunt to a local mall that had both an Apple store AND a new Microsoft store, I actually asked a Microsoft store employee about the new Microsoft Surface machines, and he said it was rather simple to explain, actually. The new MS Surface tablet was Microsoft’s answer to having their own hardware like a Samsung Galaxy or other PC-type tablet, running on a Windows 8 OS platform similar to the Windows Metro platform used on their phones. The guy had his personal PC tablet loaded up with Windows 8 on it, and proceeded to show me how it worked. In a nutshell, it worked exactly like my laptop, just a few more bells and whistles for the interface. And this, as I was told, would be pretty similar to what my experience would be like with a Surface machine, but with a handy keyboard in the cover. So anything that I was running on my laptop–full versions of Adobe Tech Comm Suite or Creative Cloud, Flare, PC games, Microsoft Office– as long as it all fit on the flash drive inside, or ran off a Flash card or external drive device, you could use it on Surface.

But wait…if Microsoft Surface is essentially just a flatter, touch screen PC version of my laptop, did this make it the iPad killer that everyone (especially Microsoft) has been claiming it to be? At first, I thought it could be. I was thinking that Surface was what I was looking for over a long period of time before my iPad. Sure, there have been other tablet computers out there, but they were always out of my price range and weren’t as powerful as my regular PC laptop. So, a former me that was shopping for a tablet would have loved that. But now, in my mind, I don’t think it’s the “iPad killer”. It just sounded–to me–like it was just a flatter, touch screen version of my laptop, with less storage room and possibly less power. Would it replace a laptop for me? Well, maybe not me, but for the average person who is not a power user, it might be a good alternative for someone else who is less tech savvy. Imagine if all the full features of your laptop were in a convenient package like a tablet, so it’d be easier to bring with you–it would work well.

At first, that sounds great. Just in mobile learning alone, that could be monumental. And that might work better for many people who want the convenience of a tablet with all the power (but less storage space) as a laptop. For some, it’ll be just what they need. But for me, as I’ve thought about it, and debated whether to get one in the future, I decided it wasn’t worth it. First of all, for the same amount of money that this Surface machine is going to cost (if it’s financially on par with iPads, as Microsoft claims it will be)–what’s the point of getting a tablet with little storage space and not as much power when you can get something more powerful–more storage space and higher processor speed–in laptop form for the same price? There doesn’t seem to be much of an advantage in having one, unless you are a person who wants to make the switch, and you don’t do much on your laptop to begin with. Yes, there are some operational advantages, but they are minor. The convenience of a tablet? Oh yeah, that’s definitely a plus, but it seems so late in the game. And in the end…it’s still a PC. You can get this now on a Samsung Galaxy Tab or other PC-based tablet now, for the most part. Maybe it’ll be a slightly ramped up OS, but then again iOS6 will probably be coming out around the same time (more or less), so it’ll be interesting to see who wins the latest Apple vs. Microsoft battle.

But just as everyone is focusing on the usual heavyweights battling it out, Google has been a contender for a while–much more than Microsoft has been. Google has recently announced that it was releasing its new device, Nexus 7, running on the latest Android OS called “JellyBean.” Reports I’ve read is that since this is a full OS, not an abbreviated version like on a Nook or Kindle Fire, it runs more smoothly and robustly. It allows for more Google features like Google Now and Google Play to be used more fully, for example. This leads me to believe that while this is a smaller tablet in size than an iPad or Surface, due to it’s great affordable price starting at $199 (as compared to a “bottom of the barrel” iPad at $499 for the new iPad, $399 for the same in an iPad), it’s definitely a dark horse contenter to come in and steal some thunder. In the end, though, it’s not really in the same category as an iPad or Surface machine. Let me explain.

The way I see it, there are two categories of tablets. The first category is one in which the tablets are almost PC replacements, but not quite. They have the most flexibility due to their ability to do anything from word processing and reports, graphic and image editing, games, video, email, web browsing, etc.  They are generally a much leaner version of a PC, not only physically in the hardware, but also in its capabilities. iPads have this down to a science now, whereas Surface will be just a slimmed down physical version of what most people have already.

The other category includes the small tablets. These would be your Nook, Kindle Fire, Nexus 7 and if it actually comes out, iPad Mini. While it has great perfunctory use, it’s not meant to be anything but a basic device to provide basic services. I’ve never heard of doing presentations off of a Nook, or a report being written on a Kindle Fire.

Are there uses in education and business for any of these kinds of tablets? Sure there are. Because of their enormous flexibility and functionality, it’s no surprise that iPads have been dominant in both education and business, and will continue to be dominant. Will the Surface upset that dominance? It might, only because so many are used to using a PC that the learning curve (not that there’s a huge one in learning how to use an iPad) would not have to be contended with, and some might like that full PC functionality over a streamlined one like an iPad. I see iPad and Surface being more productive than the smaller tablets.

Does this mean that smaller tablets don’t have a place in education or business? No, not at all. It can still be used for reading, communication, video and basic web searches– that might be all someone needs.

But from my own personal experience as a student as well as a professional, I don’t see how the larger tablets could lose. The question will be whether educators or business people find the streamlined functionality of an iPad more beneficial or the PC-similarity of the Surface to be more productive in the long run. Hmm…I think I found the topic of my PhD thesis (if I ever do it in the near future)!

What do you think? Let me know the comments below.

(PS–Microsoft or Google– if you want me to try these devices out once they are out, I’m glad to give them a go. 😉 )