devices in education - 2nd edition

Which one is right for you?

January 2014

Devices in Education

education

The Microsoft Brand Guidelines for Education | 27

the microsoft visual identity

2 Devices in Education

Introduction The search for the right device for both yourself and your school can be challenging. What type of device will I get? What do all the specs mean? Which device will best cater for my needs? The problem is, with the broad collection of form factors now available, and the vast price range, there is no ‘one size fits all’ device as every individual has their own needs. For some, a traditional laptop may still be ideal, others may benefit from a hybrid device that offers a tablet with a detachable keyboard, and, in some cases, a tablet may be the ideal choice for a primary device.

So how do you select the right device for yourself or your students? We’re going to introduce you to some of our favourite Windows 8 devices across a range of categories and prices*, each selected to assist you in your decision and match your needs.

* Each device falls within a price bracket, which are defined as follows: Budget – Under £450 | Mid-range – £450-£800 | High-end – Over £800

Devices in education: Which one do you choose?

education

“Which device will best cater for my needs? ”

3 Devices in Education education


Device types

Ultrabooks

Ultrabooks are a high-end variation of a laptop. They have all the performance of a laptop, but possess a lighter and sleeker form factor. Ultrabooks are rarely more than 20mm thick when shut, come in a range of screen sizes, and have great battery life.

Hybrids/Convertibles

Hybrid devices bring you the best of both worlds, with the ability to transform from a laptop into a tablet, when needed, to offer a flexible device to suit your needs. They come in many forms, from swivelling screens to those which completely detach from the keyboard dock, giving you the freedom to choose the best device to suit your working style.

All-in-Ones

With a full-sized (sometimes touch-enabled) screen, All-in-One PCs combine all the internal components of the machine into a single convenient and stylish device, with a smaller footprint than traditional desktop PCs.

Tablets

Tablets (also referred to as slates) are portable, touchscreen devices which fall in-between a laptop and mobile phone. Perfect for on-the-go lifestyles, tablets are lightweight and come in a variety

of sizes. The integrated technology such as the accelerometer (which detects the devices physical movements), storage drives, touch keyboard and wireless capabilities mean that you can use the device for almost anything, from reading your favourite novel to writing up a piece of work.


Primary School Student

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Immersive and interactive, touch based experiences, are particularly well suited for primary school age learners and devices that help enable these experiences should be prioritised wherever possible. Younger learners are also conceivably the users most likely to test a devices resilience, so you want to ensure that the devices you provide them with are durable enough not to shatter if they are accidentally dropped or banged on tables.

With this in mind, the following devices would be well suited for this audience:

Intel Classmate PC

Surface 2

Dell OptiPlex™ 3011


“Younger learners are conceivably the users most likely to test a devices resilience.”


Specification Specification

1GB or 2GB DDR3

Intel Celeron

10” HD touch

241mm (width) x 215mm (depth) x 39mm (max. height)

1.41kg

3rd Gen Intel® Core™ i5-3470S Processor (Quad Core, 2.9GHz Turbo, 6MB, w/ HD Graphics 2500)

Windows 8 Pro (64Bit) Multi-Language – English, French, German, Dutch, Italian

500GB 3.5inch Serial ATA (7,200 RPM) Hard Drive

4GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz

Touch Base, 20” WLED

507mm (width) x 66 mm (depth) x 323mm (height)

8.1kg

Memory:

Processor:

Screen:

Dimensions:

Weight:

Processor:

Operating System:

Hard Drive:

Memory:

Screen:

Dimensions:

Weight:

Dell OptiPlex™ 3011Intel Classmate PCAll-in-One – BudgetHybrid – Budget

Touch

60GB

Hard DriveScreen Size

10”

Windows 8Battery Life

10h

Touch

500GB


20”

Windows 8 Pro

What it can do for you

A solid device for any accidental drops and knocks, the Intel Classmate is light enough for young children to carry, but provides everything they need to have fun and learn at the same time. We love the 2MP front-facing and 5MP rear facing cameras which are great for interactive learning using services such as Skype, and the retractable handle only helps to prevent those inevitable drops.


As fun and interaction are key to students’ development in learning, the Optiplex is an ideal device for the classroom. Its 20” touch-screen capabilities enable groups of students to be able to engage on projects at once, encouraging collaborative learning, while the clear sound quality enhances Skype calls and video playback. At a budget price, the Optiplex is a solid option for the classroom.


Mains Only

Specification

NVIDIA Tegra 4 Processor

Windows 8.1 RT

32GB or 64GB

10.6”, 1920 x 1080, 16:9 (widescreen), 5-point multi-touch durable display

Up to 10 hours, 7-15 days idle life

275mm (width) x 173mm (depth) x 8.9mm (height)

676g

Processor:

Operating System:

Hard Drive:

Screen:

Battery Life:

Dimensions:

Weight:

Surface 2Tablet – Budget

64GB


10.6”

Windows 8.1 RTBattery Life

10h


The Surface 2 is the perfect device for young students to transport to and from school, weighing only 676g. It provides a great experience for students to become really engaged in lessons, with access to the Windows store education apps and touch screen to make activities more interactive and fun. The kickstand is sturdy with improved flexibility, featuring two positions, ideal for energetic young students. The tablet now comes with two USB ports, ideal for sharing and installing photos and videos from school projects. Integrated with Office 365 Education, the Surface 2 does it all, in one device.

Touch

Up to


Secondary School Student

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education

A secondary school student needs their device to be quick and powerful to allow them to research and create content using many different tools – Office 2013, Windows 8 apps, websites, search engines etc, but need something with great battery life to get them through a full school day.

Here’s our pick of what would suit their needs:

Ergo Microlite Touch

Toshiba Qosmio

Sony VAIO Duo

“A secondary school student needs their device to be quick to allow them to research and create content...”


Specification

Intel® Celeron® 1037U Processor

Windows 8 Pro

160GB to 500GB SATA

14.0” HD screen

Up to 5 hours standard battery

340mm (width) x 241mm (depth) x 110-254mm (height)

2.1kg

Processor:

Operating System:

Hard Drive:

Screen:

Battery Life:

Dimensions:

Weight:

Ergo Microlite Touch Ultrabook – Budget

Touch Hard DriveScreen Size

14”

Windows 8 ProBattery Life

5h


With regular course work and research to do, we know that secondary students need high performance devices which they can easily transport. The speed, touch capabilities and power of this device facilitate students to efficiently and seamlessly work on multiple files, research on the web and collaborate via communication technology such as Skype. As students also enjoy down time with their devices, we like the HD screen and touch capabilities which bring fantastic game playing and video streaming experiences, while the super-slim design and light-weight of the device will appeal to students’ style.


Project and group work is a significant part of secondary school, across much of the curriculum. The Toshiba All-in-One can really encourage collaboration and enhance individual involvement in group work thanks to its touch screen capabilities and generous 23” screen size, which enables each team member to add their input, and feel engaged. We also know how effective an immersive learning experience is for students, and the combination of touch, the full HD display and Dolby sound quality can enhance the experience of using PowerPoint and Publisher for presentations and posters, as well as coding for game and app design.

Specification

3rd generation Intel® Core™ i5-3337U Processor for Ultrabook™ with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0

Windows 8 Pro 64-bit

Up to 2TB

23” Toshiba HD non-reflective High Brightness display with 16:9 aspect ratio and LED backlighting

316mm (width) x 227mm (depth) x 8.3mm front / 15.9mm rear (height)

Starting at 1.12kg

Processor:

Operating System:

Hard Drive:

Screen:

Dimensions:

Weight:

Toshiba QosmioAll-in-One – Mid-range

2TB


23”

Windows 8

8h


Specification

Intel® Core™ i5-3317U Processor (1.70GHz, 2.6GHz with Turbo Boost, 3MB L3 Cache)

LED, widescreen, VAIO Display Plus, Full HD 1920 x 1080

Approx 5 hours (sheet battery optional to double battery life)

320mm (width) x 199mm (depth) x 18mm (height)

1.5kg

Processor:

Screen:

Battery Life:

Dimensions:

Weight:

Sony VAIO DuoHybrid – High End

Touch

128GB


11.6”


5h


A gorgeous alternative to standard form factors, the Duo can be transformed from a tablet to laptop in seconds with the SurfSlider™ screen, which slides up to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard, perfect for getting your college and university work done. The Digitizer stylus allows a fluid and natural writing style, which you can use to make notes during class when typing isn’t enough. The Intel i5 processor delivers a fast performance, automatically providing a boost of speed when needed. What more could you ask for when juggling study and personal life?

Mains Only

Up toUp to500GB


Further and Higher Education Students

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education

A student in further or higher education needs a device which can handle intensive use while they research and write essays, create PowerPoint presentations and collaborate with their peers, whilst also being able to handle the demands of their personal life, such as playing games, socialising or even making computer and mobile phone apps.* They want something smart and sleek which they can show off, but need something portable enough to take to and from class.

* Some students will require more unique devices due to subject choices where they require a device designed for ‘heavy-duty’ use such as programming, media and design.


Dell Venue 8 Pro

Stone All-in-One

Lenovo Yoga 11S

“A student in further or higher education needs a device which can handle intensive use.”

Many students require the visual clarity and sound quality of a desktop for studying at home. From enhancing the experience of game coding to producing creative design for media projects, the HP Stone All-in-One is an affordable platform which will transcend the learning experience from labs at university and college to a student’s room at home, thanks to touch capabilities and Intel HD graphics display.


Specification

Up to 3rd Gen Intel® Core™ i5 featuring Intel® HD Graphics

Up to Windows 8 Pro

Up to 16GB of DDR3

Available in 21.5” or 23.5” (1920 x 1080) edge-to-edge projective capacitive (10 point) touch

10.4kg

Processor:

Operating System:

Memory:

Screen:

Weight:

Stone All-in-OneAll-in-One – Mid-range

Windows 8


Specification

Up to Intel® Core™ i7-3517U, 1.9G/3.0G

Windows 8.1 or Windows 8.1 Pro

128GB or 256GB SSD

13.3” (1600 x 900) IPS display with wide viewing angle, 16:9

Greater than 8 hours

333.4mm (width) x 224.8mm (depth) x 16.9mm (height)

1.54kg

Processor:

Operating System:

Hard Drive:

Screen:

Battery Life:

Dimensions:

Weight:

Lenovo Yoga 11SUltrabook – High End

Touch

256GB


13.3”

Windows 8.1 ProBattery Life

8h


The Lenovo Yoga is an ideal device as it has the unique form of an ultrabook hybrid which can be used as a tablet to demo PowerPoints when screen sharing in presentations, and simultaneously as a powerful laptop to study and take notes from in lectures and class. It meets the student’s need to work flexibly, thanks to its durable battery life and light weight which enables collaboration on group work in cosy student hangout areas, outside the faculty campus. With a beautifully light and thin design, the Lenovo Yoga provides work, play and design all in one.


Mains Only


Students need to be able to work on the go and collaborate on group projects outside the classroom lectures and classes, which this powerful tablet enables with its clip in keyboard, Windows 8.1 and integration of Office 365. The device has highly efficient, desktop-like performance thanks to its Z3000 Intel® Atom™ processor, while the all-day 10 hour battery life will support a whole day’s study in cafes, or in class, and light up students’ downtime with back-to-back series and movie watching.

Specification

Intel® Atom Processor Z3740D (2MB Cache, up to 1.8GHz Quad-Core)

Windows 8.1 Pro (32Bit) English

64GB eMMC Hard Drive

2GB Single Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz

8.0” IPS Display with HD (WXGA 1280 x 800) resolution with 10-pt capacitive touch

390g

Processor:

Operating System:

Hard Drive:

Memory:

Screen:

Weight:

Dell Venue 8 ProTablet – Budget

Windows 8.1 Pro

64GB


8”

Touch Touch Screen Size

21.5-23.5”Up to


Educators


Educators

education

Any educator requires a PC to enable them to prepare, teach and communicate within the education environment. They use their devices for a diverse range of activities, from electronic grade records, to communicating with students, parents and other educators, to designing lesson and assignment plans. Their device is often used as the primary teaching and projection device in a classroom, and may therefore be used for video-conferencing and web browsing in addition to the aforementioned. Consequently, they need a device which can keep up with their fast-paced lifestyle, and has the ability to perform multiple functions without slowing down.


ASUS VivoBook S200E

Toshiba Portégé Z10T

Acer Aspire S7

“Consequently, they need a device which can keep up with their fast-paced lifestyle.”

A flexible alternative for educators requiring a powerful but portable device that easily adapts to different situations. Ideal for travel, it combines the functionality of a powerful laptop, with access to internal servers and work from any location thanks to Windows 8 Pro, plus provides the flexibility of a tablet. Create and deliver presentations, or easily perform multimedia tasks in class and lectures, in both tablet and laptop mode with a simple click. When in tablet mode, it can be used as a digital notepad, making it a convenient tool for meetings, education conferences and parent evenings.


Specification Specification Specification

3rd generation Intel® Core™ i5-3439Y vPro™ Processor for Ultrabook™ with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0

Windows 8 Pro 64-bit (pre-installed)

128GB

11.6” Toshiba TruBrite® IPS Full HD touch display

Up to 5 hours

299mm (width) x 220.5mm (depth) x 16.9mm front / 19.9mm rear (height)

Starting at 1.45kg

Intel® Core™ i7-3517U Processor

Active Matrix TFT Colour, 1920 x 1080, LED backlit, multitouch screen

323.3mm (width) x 223.5mm (depth) x 11.9mm (height)

1.3kg

Processor:

Operating System:

Hard Drive:

Screen:

Battery Life:

Dimensions:

Weight:

Processor:

Operating System:

Hard Drive:

Screen:

Battery Life:

Dimensions:

Weight:

Processor:

Screen:

Dimensions:

Weight:

Toshiba Portégé Z10T Acer Aspire S7ASUS VivoBook S200EUltrabook – High End Ultrabook – High EndUltrabook – Budget

Touch

128GB


11.6”

Windows 8 ProBattery Life

5h


A sleek, lightweight device with a price point starting at under £350, this ASUS is perfect for a teacher just starting their career. The touchscreen allows you to make the most of Windows 8, but you still have full laptop functionality for those all important lesson plans and emails. The devices size is only a plus, and is easily portable for when your bags are full of various textbooks and worksheets. We know that connection ports are important for teachers, as you need to connect to display equipment, peripherals and other devices, and the ASUS doesn’t let you down, being able to connect to almost anything with its VGA, HDMI and USB ports.

What it can do for you What it can do for you

This beautiful looking device is great for teachers who want to get things done while looking professional at the same time. The screen can be opened to 180 degrees and laid flat, making it perfect for collaboration, and the Acer Crystal Eye HD camera allows you to video conference with other classrooms around the world using services such as Skype. The Intel Core i7 processor provides a seamless experience, whether browsing the web or running multiple applications, giving you more time to work and less time waiting for things to load. If you want a high performance, lightweight and visually impressive device that provides you with everything you need as a teacher, this is the device to choose.

500GB


11.6”


5h

Touch

128GB


13.3”


6h

Touch

Educators

Intel® Pentium B987

Windows 8

500GB

11.6” 16:9 HD (1366 x 768) LED Backlight

5 hours

303mm (width) x 200mm (depth) x 22mm (height)

1.4kg


Senior Managers and IT Professionals



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HP Envy 23-d010ea

Surface Pro 2

Lenovo X1 Carbon

It may seem strange for us to group senior managers and IT pros into one section, but there is reason behind the seeming madness. While these two groups consume different content on their PCs, their requirements are actually quite similar. In their roles, they both need devices with high performance, professional looks and ample storage.

“ In their roles, they both need devices with high performance, professional looks and ample storage.”

Senior Managers

Senior managers are often in and out of meetings with governors, staff members, parents and external businesses. They need their device to be portable and sleek in order to give a professional impression, yet high-powered so that they can do their work without the technology slowing them down.

IT Professionals

An IT professional’s main requirement in a device is its performance. In order to manage the school’s ICT infrastructure, an IT pro needs a device which will keep up with them and allow them to run multiple, heavily intensive management applications without slowing down. In the same way as senior managers, they may often find themselves in internal and external senior meetings due to their influence on the school’s ICT choices.

The Surface Pro 2 is the ideal tablet for IT Pros and Head Teachers. It is powerful enough to replace a laptop thanks to its next-generation Intel® Core™ i5 processor, making it ideal for transporting, and you can browse and work for longer, thanks to its improved battery life, longer than the original Surface Pro. A great tool for work as unlike many other tablets, it’s compatible with all Windows software and is built with Windows 8.1 Pro, enabling anywhere access to school domains, personalised files and apps for work on the go. With its sleek design, click in keyboard/cover and weighing a light 900g, the Surface Pro 2 is the ultimate tablet to be mobile and efficient, whilst looking professional.


Specification Specification

Intel® Pentium® G645

Windows 8

500GB

23”, Full HD 1920 x 1080, 10-point touch sensitive

580mm (width) x 21.4mm (depth) x 455mm (height)

Intel® Core™ i5 or i7 Processor

Windows 8

128GB or 256GB

HD+ Anti-Glare (1600 x 900), (300 NITS) Wide Viewing

Rapid Charge up to 80% battery life in 35 minutes


1.36kg

Processor:

Operating System:

Hard Drive:

Screen:

Dimensions:

Processor:

Operating System:

Hard Drive:

Screen:

Battery Life:

Dimensions:

Weight:

Surface Pro 2 Lenovo X1 CarbonHP Envy 23-d010eaTablet – Mid-range Ultrabook – High End All-in-One – Mid-range

256GB


14”


8.2h

Touch

512GB


10.6”

Windows 8.1 ProBattery Life

10h

Touch

500GB


23”

Windows 8


The Envy’s 3rd generation Intel® processor provides a fast processing speed which gives all the performance that senior managers and IT pros need. Its structure is smart, with edge-to-edge glass design, but doesn’t compromise performance, and you can even mount it on the wall. With the 10-point touch sensitive screen, you can introduce a truly hands-on approach to leadership meetings, or get your team of IT technicians involved in the solution planning process.


Touch


Mains Only

Specification

4th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processor

Windows 8.1 Pro

Up to 8GB RAM

Up to 512GB

10.6” ClearType Full HD Display

Up to 10 hours, 7-15 days idle life


900g

Processor:

Operating System:

Memory:

Hard Drive:

Screen:

Battery Life:

Dimensions:

Weight:


With work accessibility being a fundamental necessity for a head teacher or IT Professional, the Carbon Touch Ultrabook delivers sublimely with its Intel® vPro technology – manage, protect, repair, and locate your assets work from anywhere in the world. A 128GB hard-drive provides ample storage of documents, email and software installation, and the capacitive touch panel allows for impeccable response time to 10-finger touch, channelling your time into productive work only, and conveying a seamless professional experience in meetings and presentations. Benefit from a full day’s roaming with 7 hour battery life, despite high performance. Plus, Rapid Charge will top up the battery to 80% in 35 minutes.

Up to

The NEW Lenovo

ThinkPad X1 Carbon.

Coming February 2014.


Conclusion

education

“ There really is no reason to get a ‘generic’ device which doesn’t suit your needs.”

With the number of devices on the market, there really is no reason to get a ‘generic’ device which doesn’t suit your needs. We’ve only shown you a small selection of what is available, and we know that a device has to be personal for it to feel right, but we hope that this eBook

has provided you with some guidance as to what type of device will enhance your lifestyle. Whether you choose to buy one of the devices we’ve mentioned, or find something of your own, we want you to enjoy your PC experience, and get as much out of your device as possible.
