By Alexandra Sukin ’15,
The new Q702 Fujitsu hybrid tablet, introduced in October, is an exciting successor to the PCs that Country Day has utilized in the past, and which have helped make our school an innovative leader in the use of technology in education. Sleek and lightweight, the new tablet’s most impressive feature is a completely detachable touch screen that does not impair the tablet’s functionality when it is detached.
Director of Technology Rob Baker explained in a letter to parents this fall, “Writing, annotating, sketching and highlighting are such an important part of the teaching and learning process and I am so excited that we can have full access to the digital ink we have become accustomed to on a thin and light tablet. So many of the powerful tools we use to collaborate, investigate and communicate require a full operating system and this converged device allows you to have the thin slate modality without any sacrifice in power and productivity.”
The reviews of this new tablet have largely lived up to the CCDS community’s high expectations. In a recent visit to a the help desk, Ms. Andrea Owens, the school’s Technology & Media Services Coordinator, was patiently helping a group of fifth graders with their new computers. The consensus among the group was that the detachable screen was a very cool feature, Windows 8 was a great tool to have in class, and the light weight made it easy to carry from class to class. However, most users agree that reducing mouse sensitivity might be a future improvement to consider. Another concern raised by both high school students and the fifth graders was the propensity of computers to lose internet connection. Ms. Tiffany Okel, AP Computer Science teacher, informed me that “The issues are mostly arising from the fact that all of the software/drivers necessary for Windows 8 have not yet been published. As engineers continue to catch up with the new operating system, the issues continue to be solved.”
Despite these minor issues, students using the new tablet consider it be an excellent educational tool and very fun to use. When asked to rate the computer on a scale of 1 to 10, most students gave it a 9 or above. Ms. Owens summarized the high satisfaction level and fun appeal of the computer: “I love the shape, the weight, the brightness of the screen, and how it’s very cinematic…Once we get past these initial bumps in the road, I cannot wait to see the new innovative ways our students and faculty use them to meet our goals here at Country Day.”