Lenovo Thinkpad tablet - evaluation

ITC have provided a Lenova Thinkpad for us to have a play with for a couple of days. The Thinkpad runs on Android OS 3.1 and comes with a pen! It is pitched at the business user with documents to go uploaded.


The initial feel of the Thinkpad is that it is solid, with a slightly rubberised base for a secure hold. Positive reviews in general with usual comparisons to the ipad2, with the Thinkpad coming up well as far as capabilities is concerned. For our purposes, the solid feel of the Thinkpad is not a problem as we use it in workshop/workrooms where there is a danger of things being dropped/spilled on the tablet is a high possibility.

There are more buttons on the thinkpad then on other tablets reviewed so far (Acer Iconia, Toshiba Thrive). The on/off button is a bit awkward on the right top when the tablet is held in portrait mode with the buttons (home, go back, browser and lock display) on the bottom. The usb is on the wrong side as when you are in landscape mode, the normal approach is to have the buttons on your right which means the usb memory stick stuck into the tablet is in the way when you use the tablet on your lap.


Access to external files etc. is easy with mini usb, sd card and standard usb. However the usb file copy app means you have to copy your files across and I have not figured out the way to just run your files off the usb without physically copying your files across into the tablet. Plugging the tablet into your pc allows for easy transfer of files from PC to tablet. Downloading files as attachments through browser based email or gmail is less intuitive. You download on to another tab and the attachment ‘disappears’. I then discovered the files in ‘recent files’ when documents to go app booted up!

Of note is the OEM only mobile note from myscript to make use of the pen. There is an ipad version which seems to have more limited capabilities. The mobile note allows you to write with your pen on to the tablet. The slippery screen takes a small amount of time to get used to. Overall, runs well, converting writing to text, has sketching/doodling pen option and allowing you to transfer notes to email etc. also brings in photos and for limited annotation above or below but not ON the photo itself.

In all, a nice piece of hardware, displaying photos with clarity and bundled with enough apps to get things going from the business productivtity point of view. In comparison, the Toshiba Thrive's bundled apps are more user friendly and intuitive to use. The best part of the thinkpad was the ability to use a pen using mobile note. Something which is really useful for our tablet projects where we are trying to encourage our students to write notes.

Evaluating Toshiba Thrive tablet for interactive etextbook project

IT had a Toshiba Thrive, running on android 3.0.1 for a one hour play. So gave it a quick looking over and explored it’s capabilities.  A quick thrawl through Google reveals a mostly positive review from cnet, techradar and liliputing.

The Thrive is about same thickness as an iPad 1 but longer/wider by 3 cm, the screen itself is only 1 cm longer. The Thrive seems to be more comfortable to use in landscape mode as the portrait mode is definitely narrower. The back of the tablet is covered in a cross hatched rubberised coating, making it perhaps a safer alternative for use in workshops. An added plus is the ability to replace the tablet’s battery via the removal of the back.


Collection of Android apps pretty standard but the Thrive also came with Toshiba ‘think free’ based software for word processing (write), powerpoint presentations (show) and spreadsheets (calc).

A collection of ports (usb, camera and HDMI ) allow for ease of transfer off memory sticks and other storage devices and display on a TV screen. These port are behind a rubber flange on the side of the tablet. The rubber cover is attached with a very thin strip to the tablet and might not take continuous rough use!

Access to the usb via the file manager app was a breeze. Reading pdf documents on landscape very comfortable and reading on portrait view acceptable. Photos come up via ‘gallery’ and viewing of photos very much similar experience to on an iPad. Word docs run on thinkfree write. Typing on the on-screen keyboard is straight-forward, with some tactile response and the backspace key is in the usual place on top right hand corner of the on-screen keyboard. No predictive text though. Powerpoint runs well via access through usb and on to thinkfree show. Could edit powerpoint and save but not sure if it will then run again in Windows environment. The touch interface for show was easy to use.

In tablet camera works well, providing good aural feedback when the photo is taken. Good resolution in the photo with options to sent to printer share (blue tooth printer), picassa, evernote, Bluetooth, gmail etc.)

All in, a worthwhile alternative to the Acer Iconia reviewed last week.

Evernote for learning

Have been working through Evernote on the ipad, Android OS tablet and Windows OS tablet and desktop (web version only). Lots of resources on the web as to ways to use Evernote in education including as time manager, student eportfolio, video/prezi of educational uses and  as teacher's 'swiss army knife'.  Also a guide to the ipad apps that complement Evernote.

There is also a blog on maximising the use of Evernote in education with handy posts for teachers, getting students started ,  tips for using at school and how to best maximise research using evernotes.

So, several approaches and ideas to trial and evaluate later in the month with students and tutors on our interactive etextbook project.

Evaluating Acer Iconia Tablets for interactive textbook project

CPIT IT have provided 2 Acer Iconia tablets for evaluation. One running on the Android OS and the other on Windows.


First up, the Acer Iconia A501 running on Android OS 3.0.1 with in-built accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS, and compass. Reviews have been mixed, check this and here. Although it looks slightly narrower than the ipad, the screen size is actually the same, with the Acer’s bezel edges being slimmer across the top and bottom of the screen. The silver edges on the side of the tablet make the Acer look thicker than the ipad when the Acer is actually thinner!! We will probably have to stick a rubberised bottom to the acer as it is very smooth and therefore easy to drop. As the tablet is to be used by students in the automotive workshop, robustness and handling will need to be something we consider in choice of hardware. The on/off switch is rather small, even for my small fingers, so it will be interesting to see how the students find it.

The touch screen works well and having the ability to look into the file system, using Astro is a plus. Astro did not pick up files on a memory stick inserted into the USB slot but the generic multimedia app did. The onscreen keyboard was ok to use, providing for aural feedback as keys are hit. However the delete/backspace key is not in the usual place (top right) making it a frustrating exercise to get used to the keyboard.

It does take some time to download apps via the Wifi server though. Downloaded evernote and it works fine with simple excess to my usual evernote pages. The android evernote has also niffy link to the Acer tablet’s camera and you are able to take a picture and have it saved as an evernote page. Addition of attachments etc. also intuitive plus synching the new pages to the evernote account is almost immediate. Also able to access photos stored on usb . From the usability point of view, the Android OS evernote seems to be easier to use than the ipad evernote with respect to ability to bring files into new pages.

Also tried out a couple sketching/doodling apps on the Android based Acer tablet. Kids doodle provides for some fun with the opportunity to save the sketch and play back as a video. Doodle note is more traditional and allows you to take a picture and annotate it.

Secondly, an Acer Iconia running Window 7 which comes with a keyboard as an extra, again reviews are mixed. This could be because the onscreen touch keyboard has small ‘keys’ and is difficult to touch type on. Thankfully, the delete/backspace key is in the usual space. This Iconia is larger than the Android version, longer than the ipad and about the same thickness. Having the windows button on one side means that for all intents and purposes, the tablet will tend to be viewed landscape with the windows button on the bottom left! The touch screen works well and screen resolution for photos good. The screen tends to black out whenever you change the screen orientation though!


On the software side, the usual windows based software – Word, Excel etc. along with Paint and wordpad are available. The windows interface, adapted to touch, is familiar and executes well. Wordpad allows you insert ‘paint’ files as well as pictures etc. but not to annotate pictures easily.

The USB port is in both the tablet and the keyboard section of the ensemble. So ease of access to the usb files via 'my computer' is one feature that is a plus with this tablet. The Acer did not come with Onenote, so not able to test this out. Access through my ‘cloud’ evernote via Wifi was slowish but no problems. Using the Acer on the keyboard was straightforward, with text entry via keyboard and generally intuitive for other actions on the touch screen.

Compared to the ipad, both the Acer tablets take a bit of time to boot up with the Windows OS one taking the most time.  The ipad is definitely more intuitive to use and provides a much more satisfying user experience. Apps on the ipad also robust. Android market is more difficult to negotiate through then iTunes. So I revert to googling Android apps on a desktop and then finding the recommended Android app to download. There are recommended apps and also here, on the windows tablet, but due to corporate constraints, we may be reliant on the generic windows software tools.

Student generated content on net tablets

The CPIT Foundation has approved a grant to purchase hardward for the interactive etextbooks on net tablets project. So, we are now able to move ahead with the etextbooks / eworkbooks on tablets project. One of the objectives of this project is to not only provide tutors with the opportunity to upload content, but for students to also generate content.

Katrina Fisher (barista tutor) and Peter Sauer (automotive engineering tutor) are the two tutors involved with this project next semester. Katrina and her students will use ipad 2 tablets and Peter's class on Android tablets. I have made a request to IT to purchase both the ipads and the asus eee pad . IT will be investigating Android OS tablets and have made a suggestion with the Acer Iconia Pad which also as a Windows 7 OS version. So might work on a Windows OS tablet version of the project early next year with the Engineering manufacturing team who have learning resources in the Windows environment.

Having had an ipad to play with for just on a year, I have been able to test several apps for students to generate content. These include note taking (Bamboo Paper), sketching (Doodle Buddy), post-it notes (BugMe! lite), card sorts (iCardsort), pdf annotation (pdf-notes), audio note taking (live notes lite), mindmapping (SimpleMind+) and aggregators to bring together the various items (Evernote, Scribe Lite and Catch Notes).

The equivalents of the above I have tested on our Archos are note taking and sketching (free hand note lite), post it notes (bugMe!), card sorts (flashcard maker pro), pdf aggregators (ez pdf), audio note taking (Audio Notes recorder), mind mapping (mind map memo)  and the aggregators (evernote, catch notes, emobilenotes).

So there is a good choice of apps to evaluate as to fit for purpose and user friendliness over the course of the project.

Content can be uploaded by tutors on to any of the above, or on to the photo or video players on the tablets. Plus we can also use ebook readers like Stanza for the ipad and FB reader for the Android tablets. If all else fails, we will pay for documents to go, which is available on multiple platforms. Not yet available for most Android tablets as yet with only the Archos 5 on the list (but for free).

The overall objective is to keep things simple, to explore and study the use of the apps as tools for constructive learning and for archiving / recording the learning journey, and to build guidelines for how to best use this concept to engage students, enhance learning and help students become self-directed lerners.

Beijing and android tablets

While in Beijing, I had a few days to have a look around, so did the usual tourist sights (Tienanmen square (huge), Forbidden City (austere) and the Badaling section of the Great Wall (impressive). Also caught up with old friends. Both my friends had studied at the University of Canterbury in the early 1980s. One has worked in China for over 20 years and the other for 15 years, so they have witnessed massive changes not only in the urban landscape, but in Chinese society as it has moved from a strict socialists regime towards a 'freer' market-led economy. Both used chaffeur driven cars as the traffic is so horrendous, a capable driver is important for getting around!!

I had a look around for Android tablets, but they were sparse. Visited the two main computer malls in Beijing, one in the city, the Best Buy mall and the other a group of malls clustered around the University suburbs of North West Beijing. Huge number of phones with iPhones and iPads along with HTC android phones galore, but a paucity of Android tablets. There were a few older model Archos and some Samsung Galaxys, but no sign of much else. Phones predominate and watching young Chinese texting on the subway was an interesting diversion. Due to the crowded nature of the subway, one could not help but lurk as various people tapped out their messages. Most phones relied on predictive text, choosing the correct character once a pinyin (English form) of a word was inputted. There were a few phones with character recognition, so the character was sketched and then the predictive text took over. Still slower to text in Chinese then English though.

Phone use was pervasive, from every young person to the itinerant vegetable seller on the street side. From what I gathered from the students at the conference, data plans and phones are cheap although the students still had to be careful with phone call use due to their small budgets. Food, transport and clothing all very cheap as compared to NZ. Much of the city of 20 million (5 time population of NZ!!) live in apartment blocks although I did see a few housing developments with low rise houses, but they will only be for the very rich. Traffic is consists of lots of cars and bikes / mopeds etc. and the subway is very busy, even at 'off peak'. However, there are lots of little parks around and people are kind and helpful, especially to the young and elderly. I saw lots of examples of young people helping others. It is a good sign of a caring society and much needed when so many people are packed into limited space. Will be good to be able to visit China again for a longer time to have a look beyond Beijing. Only a fleeting impression this time around but I am impressed by the Chinese peoples' focus and determination to progress and many are aware of the challenges economic progress bring.

Projects for next semester and beyond

Slight hiatus in blogging over the last week or so as busy getting several research proposals off to various external grant agencies.

Funding for two through Ako Aotearoa Southern Hub, now confirmed for next semester. One with Flip Leijten to extend on work we started last year with the 'using videos to study workshop or workplace based trades learning'. Flip will now carry out an investigation into aspects of peer-learning across workshops in joinery, painting and decorating, electrical and welding/structural steel. It will be interesting to find out how workshop organisation, sometimes based around workshop conventions from each trade, impacts on how students interact with each other.

The second is with Martin Jenkins, manager of the Centre for Educational Development. We will be investigating the 'impact of forced change' brought about by the February 22nd earthquake on our institution, the tutors and the students. The findings should be interesting - as a study of change agents and what happens when change is non- negotiable. The staff and students at CPIT have been very resilient but there are signs of stress and strain as the realities of living in a city that has to rebuilt large swathes of the central city and several suburbs, sets in.

I have also put in an expression of interest in this year's Teaching and Learning Research Initiative, to build research capability with trades tutors (across 7 polytechnics) using a 'learning by doing research' approach. The topic we intend to investigate is 'authentic assessments', in particular to explore how to better recognise and celebrate the many multiliteracies in trades learning. We will know by end of June if this project progresses to the next stage beyond the expression of interest.

The last project has gone to the CPIT Foundation to fund hardware in the form of Android OS tablets towards an interactive etextbook project. I hope to work with Peter Sauer from automotive and Katrina Fisher who teaches barista, on this project. Taken that the last Horizon Report indicated mlearning to go mainstream next year and ebooks in the next two years, it is apt that this project covers both bases :) Both Peter and Katrina are capable tutors who have worked extensively with multi-media to support their teaching, so it will be interesting to learn from them, and their students, as the project progresses.

So looking forward to next semester. My large 'first year apprentices' project will be completed by July, so three projects - mentoring Flip, the 'forced change' project and working on the interactive textbooks will take up my research time. I will enjoy the variety and the privilege of working with a great group of people. More importantly, all the topics will add to enhancing student learning in some form or other.

More tablets launched

A slew of tablets have been launched over the last few weeks in the US of A and feature on Android tablets blog. Of note on the blog,  is a comparison of the main contenders between the recently launched ipad 2 and others including the Motorola Xoom, HTC Flyer, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, BlackBerry PlayBook,  HP TouchPad and LG Optimus Pad.

The Ipad2 due to be launched in NZ at the end of next week but none of the others have made an appearance here yet. Most are more expensive then the bottom end ipad. For instance, Motorola Xoom selling at US$800. Samsung Galaxy Tab possibly to arrive in March / April but will be more expensive than the ipad. The Playbook, when it arrives (no date available) might retail under NZ$500 and no sign of the HP Touchpad (US$899) of the LG Optimus Pad either. So options in NZ still pretty limited.

Reflections on 3 conferences in 2 1/2 weeks

Back in quiet and sparsely populated NZ after 21/2 weeks traipsing across a very crowded Europe and Asia. In addition to visiting 5 countries and 3 conferences, I also met up with my PhD supervisor to complete the final edit for my dissertation, shopped around for Android tablets and caught up with family in Singapore. Not sure if I will try to pack in as much another time!

However, time spent in airports was generally productive. The availability of free WiFi at most major airports helps plus on-board power for laptops on some aeroplanes assisted as well. Nothing worst then a dead laptop or no WiFi when trying to bring up Google maps to work out the best route and mode of transport from the airport to booked accommodation. I noticed in most airports, how people who were using the free internet desktops were mostly updating their facebook or similar. Road warriors seemed to have their own laptops and mobile web access.

On the shopping front, Android tablets were not as prevalent as I thought they might be. As in Hong Kong, there were very few in Singapore. I managed to play with one ePad which was being sold for Singpore $599, just $129 less than the 16G basic Ipad. Will need to wait until at least early next year for the market to mature.

Also, as people in other countries commute on public transport much more than the average NZer, the use of mobile devices was much more prevalent. As noticed in Singapore earlier this year, Italians, Romanians and Hong Kongers were all pretty much permanently wedded to their mobile phones. Almost everyone was twiddling with one on the bus, tram, subway or at the airport. In all countries, there were many shops selling mobile phones, often at very low prices when accompanied by a fixed term data plan.

I think the advent of ubiquitous computing is very nearly mainstream, especially in countries where the mobile web is not expensive. Even my 4 aunties (all in their seventies) who had all vowed to not become computer literate. They were all teachers who, aged 50 plus and early 60ish, had to attend PD sessions on using technology in teaching! However, everyone of them now uses a mobile phone and able to txt in both English and Chinese as it is the only way they are able to get hold of their children or grandkids. One has just succumbed to an iphone after being taught how to use it by her son-in-law. An ipad going to be the next investment (time and learning, not money) after I showed them how user-friendly mine was.

All in, a good time to catch up on completing the last edits towards dissertation, observe changes in mobile technology use, see some nice places, meet interesting people, play with a range of technology difficult to find in NZ and remember how lucky I am to live in clean and uncrowded NZ :)

looking for android os tablets

Had a busy day yesterday, doing the rounds of the computer shops around Mong Kok, Hong Kong. Lots of Android OS phones but a paucity of Android OS tablets. There was the Dell Streak which only has a small screen and was on the expensive side. Also the Samsung Galaxy Tab which was also expensive. Saw a few Archos 7" and it's smaller 5" cousine, which reminded me more of a PSP then a tablet. Plus also several ipad lookalikes (same box etc.) which were the Woof (for around HK2000), the irobot and a no brand one for (HK1500).

So the market for android tablets is yet to mature. The ones I tried out were generally lacking in responsiveness, the touch screens being a poor experience in comparison with the ipad. Uploading speeds also slower. The shops selling the ipad knockoffs were not that keen to advertise the products, which were generally kept on the bottom shelves and only brought out when I made concerted queries. My mangled Cantonese was understandable after all. Lots of Ipads around and these were showcased in most shops. So the brand conscious and savvy HK consumers have voted with their pockets, purchasing the ipad rather than considering cheaper options. 

Will have a look around Singapore if time allows. The market there is even more conservative so I am not holding much hope for finding many examples of android OS tablets however, always good to see what is the latest in mobile phones and netbooks as well.