Tech Tip Tuesday: Androidify your Education

Much is being said about tablet computing today in education, but let's be honest, people aren't calling it tablet computing. They aren't calling them tablets, they aren't discussing mobile devices in education, not in a genuine way. Educators are talking about the iPad in education, and who can blame them. With an overwhelming majority of the market for tablets and Apps for everything why would you look at the major competitor? Here are some reasons:

1. Android works with Google Apps for Education You can use your current Google Apps login to access the features of an Android device and with the Google Device Policy App you can even set security features.


2. Android Devices have GPS. Several devices including the Samsung Galaxy Player and the Creative Zen Touch 2. This allows the device to be used for all sorts of GeoSpatial Learning activities.


3. Seamless integration with your current Google Account. If you already have a Google Account it is the key to opening up the device and all the resources. Also, most of your current online tools have a mobile counterpart including: Picasa, Google Drive (Formerly GoogleDocs) and the Play.Google store


4. People might already know Android. Android phones are outselling iPhones in the Global Market (Apple still seems to edging out Android in U.S. markets) but chances increasing that people know Android.


5. Lots of options! This can be both a boon and a bane of Android. Following the Model of Microsoft, Google bought and then developed and marketed the Android OS and let others build hardware.  Google also opted to make Android OpenSource this means that manufacturers can essentially rewrite Android's internal workings to match up to their device. Sometimes this is great, sometimes this falls flat and you get a much less consistent ecosystem where Apps will work on one device but not on another. The boon is there are some 7 inch tablets selling for under $100.00 and as noted above there are some pocketable devices for under $150.00 that incorporate GPS and Cameras, media players, media creation, email, and a wide variety of features available through the Apps on Play.Google.com. Options aren't limited to just the devices either. There is a lot more flexibility about what Apps ca

As true competition begins to develop in the tablet environment there could be some really good reasons to adopt Android.  When you are fully onboard just Androidify