Edulogia

Educating People on the Web

The beauty of using a tablet is not hard to understand. While many of us are still locked into using our laptops for the next few years, tablets are starting to emerge as a great option for a portable computing device.

Apple has been making iPads for many years, while they also have the iPad Pro that is one of the fastest mobile devices including many laptops. Even Google is involved with its Pixel Slate, which is a tablet and comes with an attachable keyboard.

But how is productivity on these devices? It is a question that we often get, especially from educators. And it is an understandable question, as these devices are meant to be used for work, not just entertainment. We know that you can watch great videos and read books on tablets. But what about doing work on Word, PowerPoint or Excel?

Microsoft Office on iPads

The latest iPad Pro is almost as expensive as most laptops, especially if you are getting the pen and the keyboard. Even a regular iPad with a bluetooth keyboard and a stylus will cost a good amount of money. Educators want to know if they are getting their money’s worth. Schools want to know if buying a bunch of these for kids is useful.

And the good news is that Microsoft Office is much improved on iOS devices. It does require a subscription, which schools and colleges can get for all their students. But when that subscription is active, it has the full slate of programs that are easily accessible on iPads.

Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote and other applications work seamlessly. Opening an app takes seconds, while even larger files will load without issues. And it is possible to sync using cloud storage from OneDrive or other programs. OneDrive will work the best, as it is native from Microsoft.

Opening More Than One Instance of An App

There is a slight issue when it comes to using these programs on an iOS device. And that issue involves opening more than one instance of an app. Say you have one Word document that you are editing and you need to reference another one using split screen. It is not possible right now.

While you can easily open the first document, take the info you need and open the other one in seconds, it must be done one after the other. It is not possible to have two open on the same device through the same app. And that may be an issue for some people who like to multitask or do heavy work on Word or Excel.

But it is an issue that is worth overcoming to use a tablet.

Flexibility of Tablets

The reason why educators are going towards tablets instead of laptops is because they are great for the classroom. Showing someone work on a tablet is easy, as it is so light and can be held up like a book or a piece of paper.

And the latest tablets have great stylus options, where you are writing on the tablet as though it is a piece of paper. Taking notes has never been easier for students. Drawing is also great on tablets.

In a school setting, a tablet is often seen as better than a laptop. And Office works great on these tablets, especially on iPads!

Follow Us