KittyM Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Hi everyone, Before I pose my question I guess I should introduce myself... My name is Catherine and I live in Australia with my dh and ds6. We are in our second year of homeschooling (ds has never been to school) and we're loving it. I've been lurking on the forum here for a while and have gleaned so much useful information so firstly I'd really like to thank all you people for so many interesting and enlightening posts! Secondly, I have a question.... I am not particularly techno-savvy but am determined to update myself in the new year. I am considering either a netbook or an iPad and I'm wondering if anyone can recommend one over the other. I am very keen on the iPad (and have been avidly following the other iPad-related threads) but dh thinks a netbook would be better (but the iPad just looks sooo cool!!). I want something that will be useful for homeschooling (and out-and-about-schooling!) and for organizing our lives in general (lists, budgets etc). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to being part of the WTM forum! Catherine :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I have a netbook and am dreaming of an ipad. My netbook is like a mini computer and I can surf on it, blog what not. The games are limited but I do have a math game and typing tutor I am using. I want the ipad as it is more intuitive for young children and they will be able to mark up pdf files which I am starting to order instead of work books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I have a netbook and would be lost without it. If you frequently use a desktop computer, though, you might prefer the iPad. My dh has an iPad and we use it for media- we watch Netflix videos via that. My kids are on netbooks or computers daily for their schoolwork. Oldest ds has a laptop, because he needs a CD-ROM drive for his Teaching Textbooks math. They both use bigiqkids.com for math drill and spelling/vocabulary. They both love to keyboard for language assignments. I would say the lack of a keyboard is a big drawback of the iPad... unless you get a corresponding keyboard like this: http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Performance-Bluetooth-different-adjustable/dp/B0054L7FVW/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1323365482&sr=1-3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I love the ipad so much that I just bought dd her own so we don't have to share. If you search additional threads for ipad and apps you can discover all the ways various people are using it for school. My netbook hasn't left the office since I bought the ipad. It is infinitely more user friendly for children than using a netbook. The battery on my ipad lasts 2 to 3 times as long as the one on my netbook. We travel a lot so this was a big plus for me. Movies look better on it. It's easier to hold for long trips. The only advantage of a netbook is the keyboard and you can get a keyboard for the ipad if you find the need to have one. I have decided I can live with the large on screen keyboard. Today my dd did her math while we were driving around doing errands. She did it by writing on the pdf worksheets in Notability. You can't really do that on a netbook. Check out the apple store for refurbished options. If you don't care about having a camera you can get a first generation ipad with 64gb of memory for $399. You save $50 on an ipad 2 and they come with the same warrantly as a new one. ETA: I haven't found one thing I NEED to do that I can't do on my ipad. I like to watch movies that require flash and you can't do that in the Safari browser but there are some apps to work around that and watch flash content. I haven't had time to try them yet but they get good reviews so I'm pretty sure they work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittyM Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Thanks for all that info.... Jenn, I can see how the iPad could be so much more child-friendly... JenniferC, thanks for the link to the keyboard thingy on Amazon, it looks like it could be really useful for getting over the issue of trying to type on the screen. Acurtis, you sound very convincing! Notability seems to be something that really opens up a lot of doors in terms of schooling with the iPad. I know that the iPad 2 has 64gb of memory but the figure doesn't mean a whole lot to me. Would I be able to store plenty of pdf's, photos, music etc on my iPad? Dh keeps telling me there is very little storage on it? Catherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 I have a netbook and would be lost without it. ... I would say the lack of a keyboard is a big drawback of the iPad... :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Thanks for all that info....Jenn, I can see how the iPad could be so much more child-friendly... JenniferC, thanks for the link to the keyboard thingy on Amazon, it looks like it could be really useful for getting over the issue of trying to type on the screen. Acurtis, you sound very convincing! Notability seems to be something that really opens up a lot of doors in terms of schooling with the iPad. I know that the iPad 2 has 64gb of memory but the figure doesn't mean a whole lot to me. Would I be able to store plenty of pdf's, photos, music etc on my iPad? Dh keeps telling me there is very little storage on it? Catherine I am pretty clueless as well to GB and what not. But I do know that the higher the number the more storage. They come in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB. So yes the 16 GB have very little storage, the 32GB medium, and 64 GB the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Do you have a home computer? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittyM Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Yep, we sure do. A desktop and a laptop with all our music, photos, music, etc etc on them. All I need to be able to store on the iPad is current schoolwork, uni work (for myself), some photos and perhaps a little music. C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Yep, we sure do. A desktop and a laptop with all our music, photos, music, etc etc on them. All I need to be able to store on the iPad is current schoolwork, uni work (for myself), some photos and perhaps a little music. C. Then get the iPad. It is a way-cool technology. Truly portable. New exciting (and inexpensive) apps everyday. Nice to read on. Great for color documents. Apps like Notiblity are opening the door to allowing one to work on PDF materials directly on the tablet. Your only problem may be that it is so cool people may fight over who gets to use it. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittyM Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Your only problem may be that it is so cool people may fight over who gets to use it. Bill I hear you! I intend to have dh buy it for me for Christmas so it will technically be all mine..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 I hear you! I intend to have dh buy it for me for Christmas so it will technically be all mine..... Good luck with that :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Check out the apple store for refurbished options. If you don't care about having a camera you can get a first generation ipad with 64gb of memory for $399. You save $50 on an ipad 2 and they come with the same warrantly as a new one. I've been looking at this, but it's gone now. Is there any reason to spend more to get the refurbed iPad 2 if I'm going to splurge on something like this at all? If these come back in stock again, that would be a nice deal, and it appears as though I could do away with printing for quite awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommy4ever Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Good luck with that :D Bill LOL... I am predicting conflict. The big girls asked for ipod touches. And the little one is going to be after it big time. So dh and I discussed, and decided to get her an iPad after reading on how it might work within homeschool and have her fun games like the big girls will have on the iPods.... they big girls have netbooks, so this kinda evens the playing field. in less than 24hours.. I'm seeing that I would love one too. So I can see the older girls wanting them too..lol. They will need to wait a couple more years though... momma however has a b'day coming...wonder what daddy would say:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 I've been looking at this, but it's gone now. Is there any reason to spend more to get the refurbed iPad 2 if I'm going to splurge on something like this at all? If these come back in stock again, that would be a nice deal, and it appears as though I could do away with printing for quite awhile. The ipad2 has a camera/video camera. Since I already had the ipad2 it was an easy choice for me to get the ipad1 with more memory for dd since she I will probably store movies, etc for traveling. The video camera is nice but you would have to decide how much you would use it. Now that I have both devices here to compare the only really obvious difference is the size & weight. The 1 is thicker and heavier. It probably wouldn't be as obvious if I weren't looking at them next to each other. Other than that and the camera it would be hard to tell them apart. They also dropped the prices on the ipad2's so the 16gb is $419 (if they have it) and the 32gb is $499 which is the same price as a new one with 16gb. If you want the camera you might go that route to get twice as much memory. I got both refurbished iPads in the mail this week and they look and function as if they're brand new. There's no reason to buy a new one. I had to want the apple store every day to get the 64gb one because it was sold out. I would guess there will be more after Christmas but I would check daily and make a quick decision when you find one available Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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