Difference between revisions of "Petition to abolish tablet requirement"
imported>Wyreshark (→Signatures of students not happy with the tablet requirement) |
imported>Microcosmus |
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| − | '''This is a crowdsourced petition, meaning anyone that has access to this can help compile(pour hate and trash the requirement) it.''' | + | '''This is a crowdsourced petition, meaning anyone that has access to this can help compile (pour hate and trash the requirement) it.''' |
==Dissatisfaction with requirement== | ==Dissatisfaction with requirement== | ||
| − | + | ===Inferior hardware=== | |
* Available models are limited to a 13.3" maximum screen size | * Available models are limited to a 13.3" maximum screen size | ||
| − | * | + | * Tablets can not be upgraded nearly as extensively as full-scale laptops. Lenovo tablets support a maximum 320GB hard drive, and are limited to a dual-core i7 2620M. |
| + | * Keyboards are often cramped and do not include numpads. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Lack of real benefits=== | ||
| + | Virginia Tech has produced a list of purported benefits of tablet technology. With the possible exception of diagramming, we do not find any of them valid advantages over full-size laptops. Additionally, none of them can possibly justify requiring thousands of students to buy specialized hardware and software. | ||
| + | * "Writing on slides" - This can be done with text rather than handwriting. Most people can type significantly faster than write, and text annotations have the advantage of being more legible than handwriting. | ||
| + | * "Handwriting recognition" - This technology is nowhere near perfect, and operates disasterously when writing mathematical formulae by hand | ||
| + | * "Formulas and equations" - After learning LaTeX or the keyboard shortcuts for OneNote's equation editor, most equations can be typed faster than written. | ||
| + | * "Collaboration" - While this idea works well in environments where each user is running OneNote on a Windows tablet, you can no longer expect this type of compliance as many users have switched to Unix-based operating systems. Wikis and Google Docs, among other services, permit cross-platform users to collaborate. | ||
| + | * "Typing" is in no way restricted to tablets; in fact, one cannot even type on a tablet while the screen is flipped in tablet mode | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Lack of choice=== | ||
| + | * Tablets are expensive compared to other laptops of similar specs, forcing students to pay extra for functionality they may rarely use. | ||
* Students can't use Macbooks, as they lack tablet functionality. | * Students can't use Macbooks, as they lack tablet functionality. | ||
| − | |||
* All available tablets are pre-installed with Windows, forcing students to buy an individual Windows license in addition to a VT Windows site license. | * All available tablets are pre-installed with Windows, forcing students to buy an individual Windows license in addition to a VT Windows site license. | ||
| + | * Because the Engineering Education department assumes students have a tablet PC, they mandate installation of Windows-only software. DyKnow, for example, is an invasive classroom presentation tool with spyware capabilities, enabling lecturers to remotely control students' computers. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Proposed Alternatives=== | ||
| + | * USB Wacom tablets are available for fairly cheap and fuction as well as onscreen tablets. Many studets prefer USB tablets because the keyboard can be used while writing | ||
| + | * If tablets were made optional, students can purchase the technology they find optimal for them, rather than be forced to use a certain platform. | ||
==Signatures of students not happy with the tablet requirement== | ==Signatures of students not happy with the tablet requirement== | ||
Revision as of 02:16, 24 March 2012
This is a crowdsourced petition, meaning anyone that has access to this can help compile (pour hate and trash the requirement) it.
Contents
Dissatisfaction with requirement
Inferior hardware
- Available models are limited to a 13.3" maximum screen size
- Tablets can not be upgraded nearly as extensively as full-scale laptops. Lenovo tablets support a maximum 320GB hard drive, and are limited to a dual-core i7 2620M.
- Keyboards are often cramped and do not include numpads.
Lack of real benefits
Virginia Tech has produced a list of purported benefits of tablet technology. With the possible exception of diagramming, we do not find any of them valid advantages over full-size laptops. Additionally, none of them can possibly justify requiring thousands of students to buy specialized hardware and software.
- "Writing on slides" - This can be done with text rather than handwriting. Most people can type significantly faster than write, and text annotations have the advantage of being more legible than handwriting.
- "Handwriting recognition" - This technology is nowhere near perfect, and operates disasterously when writing mathematical formulae by hand
- "Formulas and equations" - After learning LaTeX or the keyboard shortcuts for OneNote's equation editor, most equations can be typed faster than written.
- "Collaboration" - While this idea works well in environments where each user is running OneNote on a Windows tablet, you can no longer expect this type of compliance as many users have switched to Unix-based operating systems. Wikis and Google Docs, among other services, permit cross-platform users to collaborate.
- "Typing" is in no way restricted to tablets; in fact, one cannot even type on a tablet while the screen is flipped in tablet mode
Lack of choice
- Tablets are expensive compared to other laptops of similar specs, forcing students to pay extra for functionality they may rarely use.
- Students can't use Macbooks, as they lack tablet functionality.
- All available tablets are pre-installed with Windows, forcing students to buy an individual Windows license in addition to a VT Windows site license.
- Because the Engineering Education department assumes students have a tablet PC, they mandate installation of Windows-only software. DyKnow, for example, is an invasive classroom presentation tool with spyware capabilities, enabling lecturers to remotely control students' computers.
Proposed Alternatives
- USB Wacom tablets are available for fairly cheap and fuction as well as onscreen tablets. Many studets prefer USB tablets because the keyboard can be used while writing
- If tablets were made optional, students can purchase the technology they find optimal for them, rather than be forced to use a certain platform.
Signatures of students not happy with the tablet requirement
- Lukas Lozovski
- George Burgess
