A few weeks ago, through the blessing of a technology grant we received, The Rescue Mission was able to buy a few Ipad’s to experiment with and to determine whether they would be useful in our school, the Challenge Learning Services. After a few weeks we are beginning to draw some conclusions as to whether they might be useful for our Rescue Mission, and perhaps for other organizations.
First, the benefits of using Ipad’s
1. Less Expensive than a laptop. While these devices are never cheap, an Ipad is a few hundred dollars less expensive than most laptops, which is critical for many non-profits.
2. Portability. Being lighter and having a low-profile, it is easier to carry with you than laptop. Thus making it useful for some tasks which require staff to be walking around the campus on a regular basis. (more on that later)
3. Easy to use. The ipad is easy to use, but it also takes a bit getting used to using a touch screen and the iOS operating system if you haven’t worked on it before. For those that have a ipod touch or iphone, it’s a breeze.
Short comings
1. Wireless projection. It seems obvious that you should be able to send a presentation to a projector wirelessly from the ipad, but to this point it’s not possible using the iOS. When this is possible, it will allow teachers to walk around showing students work on the screen, while projecting on a larger screen. This would make it an essential presentation tool.
2. Slower typing. Although you can get a wireless keyboard for an additional $30, typing on the ipad is slower and not ideal for heavy duty word processing.
3. Seamless document sharing. On the ipad you can do almost anything a laptop can do…almost. But as you know, almost can sometimes be frustrating.
Ways we could use the Ipad at the Rescue Mission
1. Computer Lab. Ipad’s could be the basis of a relatively inexpensive, mobile computer lab for our students.
2. Case management. One of our teammates has hooked her laptop up to our Serenity case management software and is able to input information and view casefiles on the go. *We will be implementing this at Adams St. Campus shortly, allowing the shift-management team to have a ipad with them while on duty and be able to access their files at all times.
3. Presentations. Even with it’s current lack of wireless support, it’s still a great presentation tool and many of those testing it used this feature.
4. Imagination Starter. While tools have a way of becoming assumed, at this point exposing our students to ipad’s is a great way to start their imagination and get them excited to use a computer. That has a value all it’s own.
These are a few ideas on our experiment thus far, but I’m interested in what you think. Have you tried using an Ipad in your work, ministry, non-profit? What were the pros and cons?
David Curry
