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I think I just figured out this afternoon why I am not warming up to the Macbook Pro that has been issued to me by my school district and keep using my HP Tablet with Win7 for almost everything. It isn’t just because I have been a long-time Windows user who hadn’t used a Mac before October.
The differences between Win7 and Mac are actually much smaller at this point and time than they ever have been, so if I can use one, I can use the other and do to a certain point. No it is much deeper than that. I think what is holding me back from accepting the Mac is something that I said in my first sentence “that has been issued to me”.
The Mac is not mine…it is a MLTI machine and I can’t do the tweaks, put the software on that I want or set it up the way that I want to. It belongs to the school/State and they control everything about it.
The other thing is I know that anything that I put on the Mac, has to be backed up somewhere, because I have to turn it in after the school year is over and then be re-issued another one next school year and have to start the whole process over again. So why on earth would I want to invest all that time and effort into personalizing this Mac to fit my needs, when in 7 months I turn it in and it gets re-imaged. For some this might be an ideal situation, but for me it doesn’t work very well.
I can’t put Parallels or other similar software on that will allow me to run M/S Office on my issued Mac – Word is the one piece of software that isn’t duplicated on the Mac Don’t say use Pages, NeoOffice or Open Office they are not the same, I have used them and I do not like them. I do like Office’s Ribbon interface and prefer to use it whenever possible – enough that I purchased Nitro PDF because it has a ribbon interface.
If I wasn’t a Special Education Teacher I could take a lot closer look at Google Docs now that it has offline synching. I am finding that for my classroom work I create in Word and upload everything to Docs, so that I can access it cross-platform from any computer.
The answer would be to go out and buy a Mac. I had thought about it seriously, but financially that is not a consideration at this time. That way I would have most of the same software my students have to use and be able to help them with it better than I can now.
If I owned the Mac I would also be able to “personalize” it to my preferences and needs. As it stands right now, my issued Mac is a backup to my Windows PC – in case something happens, like I forget my power cord or leave my PC at home.
It is too bad really, because as I see my students use it and begin to use it more myself, I see a great deal of potential for having one. However, unless I hit the lottery or come into some unexpected cash from something (or find a really cheap deal or a trade on a used one), I guess I will “suffer” with my HP tablet, which isn’t really suffering at all. I have it setup pretty much the way I want it – finally. I guess I would also have to get rid of the HP because otherwise I would just keep going back to it.
Anyone out there want to trade 13 inch Mac book for a 12.1 HP tablet? I would have to really think about it though, still don’t know if I would pull the trigger, but it is something to think about.
So it isn’t about Mac vs PC. It is really more about the fact that I haven’t given the Mac a good opportunity to show what it is capable of is, because it isn’t mine to personalize.
Now if some of you Mac experts or MLTI gurus out there can steer me in a different direction. Please give me that info so I can delve deeper into my issued Mac.
Who knows maybe someday, we will see?
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Andrew Forgrave
November 29, 2009
Harold,
A very interesting dilemma. I can empathize with the struggle of not being allowed to customize the notebook because it is district-issue and destined for re-image at the end of the year. And I can also understand your concern about working with a different-from-usual platform. For what it’s worth, consider investing the time and energy required to get to know the Mac — making use of as many cross-platform opportunities and cloud-based services/software as are available.
I’ve carried around a notebook for close to 16 years now, and for the last fourteen of them, the laptop has been my own, personal machine, normally Mac. Different jurisdictions approach the teacher-issued-notebook question to varying degrees. In my district, administrators are provided with notebooks and blackberries, but teachers are expected to use the regular student-use desktops (not that I haven’t raised the question of hardware-for-teachers numerous times.) And so, to support my professional use and my practice, it’s been my personal hardware that has always done the heavy lifting for me at work. Granted, it’s not allowed on the district network either — but for the last few months, my iPhone tether has given me ‘Net access, so that’s a step forward.
Because it’s my own machine, I have the opportunity to modify it and install software of choice — as you do with your tablet. I have to hope that as we (and jurisdictions, in general) move forward, we’ll all be able to gather in a more happy middle. One where platform choice and lockdown are less significant issues, and empowering our professionals (and our students) to do their best work in the way they do best is more to the forefront. After all, knowingly imposing constraints and sameness seem counter to the notions of enabling and differentiating — key concepts in our approach in education these days.
resource220
November 29, 2009
Andrew – I have used my own the old Luggable portable computers in the military since ’88 and my own Windows machines in education, so I know what you mean and understand the limitations/benefits of wanting to use your own machine vs using an issued one. I have been lucky and worked with very understanding IT types throughout my careers and when allowed access don’t abuse the privileges that are provided to me when using my own equipment. If I am allowed access to a network, I don’t mess around on it…it has worked so far.
In Maine all public school Junior High Students and Teachers are issued Mac Book laptops, so we are very fortunate. Maybe I am to old fashioned, but if I want to try out a new “application” or software, I want to be able to and that means I have to have my own equipment, can’t expose the networks to that “unknown” factor.
I do most of my work in the cloud now and attempt to have very the minimum of desktop software to stay on a desktop. In actuality I am attempting to become O/S neutral where ever I can. If it wasn’t for my gaming, I could probably get by with a netbook pretty easily – I just have to connect it to a monitor, if I am on them for a long time, just like I do with my 12.1 HP tablet.
As we move more and more into WIFI it makes IT dept more likely to provide access to the network proxy, because you can’t really do any damage (unless you know what you are doing).
I know it is more expensive for me to own my own machine, but I really don’t like being responsible for a “loaner” and I really, really don’t like the limitations that go along with using a “loaner”.
Thanks for commenting
Harold
John Brandt
November 29, 2009
I only had a MLTI machine in my possession for about a week before I broke it.
That was three years ago. It was a first gen iBook the DOE gave to me to test out. I made the mistake of answering “yes” when some program I was using asked if I wanted to update the application. As you know, that’s verboten and the critter went into the permanent re-boot-loop. I gave the unit back to Jeff Mao and felt it confirmed my bias that Macs were just toys, especially the low end units that were being distributed to MLTI students.
I eventually got another similar iBook but without the MLTI image. The experience was better, but the quality of the small Mac just didn’t meet my expectations.
Last week I was fortunate enough to get that iBook replaced by a brand new MacBook Pro. This is a step above the MLTI-issue Macs with a faster processor and more RAM. It is a pretty sweet machine. But, like you, I do not own this and can use it for demos and to test things out. And that is a bit of a burden.
I understand the logic behind the MLTI “image” and the need for standardization, but I think they did not consider the value of individualization. In Maine, we have been talking about the importance individualized and differentiated instruction for 15 years, and yet we give out teaching and learning tools that are locked down and told not to modify them. Can you imagine if we required all students to use the same exact paper notebook and pen? Or insisted all curriculum had to come from the same textbook…? Okay, okay, that’s a bad example because there are probably many schools where that is indeed the case. But it’s still wrong.
I guess the solution for you – other than winning the lottery or finding a sugar daddy – is to see if your IT people would jailbreak the unit you have and allow for some creativity.
Good luck with that…
resource220
November 29, 2009
Hi John
Thanks for commenting…I know and agree with what you have said. I guess I just am an old curmudgeon – if I want to try something new out, I want to try it out or if I want to do something to the computer I want to.
So until I can figure something out, I will keep my HP tablet as my primary machine, put as much stuff in the cloud to be platform independent and keep playing with the Mac, when I have the opportunity.
In the age of standardization, individualization is not an option. I wouldn’t ask them to jailbreak it, because I have to turn it in at the end of the year anyway. So I will wait until either a trade or some funds come my way to purchase one.
Thank again
Harold
David Trask
November 29, 2009
Seriously, your district should not be collecting the each year from teachers. I issue ours for the duration of the 4 years. Yes, I reimage them in the late summer for those that want the newest and most updated software (to keep up with what the kids have). I call for them and only have them a couple days. Many schools, including my own, make the admin password something the teacher knows and give the teachers the admin account. Then you can do what you want. This is actually “supported” by the MLTI folks. DO NOT try and make the teacher account an admin account as that will break many things, but simply change the admin password from the school admin password and then let the teachers have at it….with the understanding that if they screw it up…it will be “reimaged” to fix it. As for backup…you should try using dropbox. (getdropbox.com) and that way all your docs will be synched and can easily be put back on whatever machine you are issued in the meantime. Otherwise…you should point your school to what many other schools (particularly large ones) in the state who opted out of the MLTI3 plan are doing Open1to1.org http://open1to1.org
Crystal Priest
November 29, 2009
I’d just like to make a couple of observations . . . and for the record, I’m writing this on my MLTI MacBook. It is the one issued by the school and it is my primary work machine. I’m also the district technology coordinator.
1. If you need your machine customized so that you can do your work, then you need to work with your school’s tech dept. and possibly your administrators to get the machine set up to work for you rather than against you. Staff in my school district have admin accounts on their machines so they can try out whatever they want. That means they also have a responsibility to take care of their system, but if they mess it up, I’ll just re-image the machine and life goes on. Some staff, such as the SPED dept. have Parallels installed on their machines for various programs that they need to use. The math dept. gets specific software as does the science dept., and the CAD course gets their software too. IF a teacher or program needs something, then we do what we can to support them. Licensing and funds might be an issue, but the machine itself very rarely is.
2. We do take all machines back in the summer for reimaging, cleaning and checkups/repairs. Students give them up when they leave for the summer. Teachers need to get them to me during a week long time period in August. For the teachers who really can’t part with their machine without going through withdrawal, I set up a 2hr time that is convenient for them to reimage their machine and get it back to them. This ensures that they start the year with a machine that is running well, has the latest software and drivers and that their gradebooks are ready to go for the new year. It also forces staff members to back up their machines at least once a year. Yes, it is annoying for everybody involved, but after running a 1:1 laptop program for 10 years, I also know that it pays off for everybody during the course of the year if we do this.
3. If you really are having an issue with setting your machine back up the way you like it after you have it reimaged, then you should check out a few resources out there that will make it easier. Barbara Greenstone has published a back up notebook – it is available on the ACTEM Noteshare server at Noteshare.actem.org. It explains how to save your various files and setting so you can have them set back up in short order. Invest in an external hard drive and setup Time Machine – use it on a regular basis to back up your work and then use it to put all your files back where they belong when you get your machine back. Your local techies should be able to show you how to move your files back where they need to be.
4. Contribute ideas and suggestions to the MLTI team about what you would like to see on the new image. If you think the current image is locked down, you should have seen the original one way back when. The MLTI image has come a long way, partly because of user feedback.
5. As far as personalization goes, about the only thing you can’t personalize on a MLTI machine is the desktop background and I know more than a few students who have found a way around this issue!
Good Luck!
Crystal
resource220
November 29, 2009
Crystal – thank you for the information, my IT department is very helpful – I don’t want to give the impression they aren’t. I guess part of the issue is that I started on 10/5/09 (well after the school year), I haven’t really been given the what I can and what I can’t or where to find that info. I have never taught where they were part of the MLTI project before where I am. I am learning more and more about the project and this post has taught me a lot more.
I am not anti-MLTI in fact I was always jealous of the program previously and it appears that the Macs are not as locked down as I thought thanks to all the commenters, but at the same time if I have my druthers, I would just as soon have my own laptop than using someone else’s. I am a bit of a geek and part of the fun of having a computer is being able to tweek it and try out new things to see how they work.
Harold