Don’t forget iWork
Week three of my computer-based learning class was about the suite of Google products that can be incorporated into the educational environment. The list of programs was impressive, and I heard about apps and usages that I had never imagined. I had never for one second thought of incorporating the use of Google Maps into authentic speaking activities. Or I had never looked at how important the technology and language around analytics and YouTube could be. It dawned on me that I cannot really teach about a crucial part of the internet experience when I don’t even have the words to describe it? The list could go on and on, but I found the insights into these apps fascinating.
It made me look at how I use all of these pieces of software, and I had a very strange realization. Before joining Temple University, I mostly used Apple products: Pages as my primary word processor, Numbers for spreadsheets, and Keynote for presentations. But on my phone, I had Google Calendar, Google Translate, and Google Meet. I hadn’t touched Microsoft since they moved towards a subscription service, and I felt the cost wasn’t worth it with free alternatives. I was an Apple user; why not use Apple products? But it looks like I’m in the minority.
Apple products seem to have a bad reputation in the business world. iWork, as the productivity software, is referred to as having less than 0.1% market share in the United States according to enlyft.com (a data analyst consulting company). Which starkly contrasts with the 16% market share Apple holds in total computers in the U.S. So millions and millions of computers are sitting there with free software that works perfectly but is never used.
As I mentioned in my previous blog, my tech skills barely reach above passable, but I always found the Apple suite of products to be intuitive, well organized, and simple to use. I could make worksheets for students, keep track of data, and whip up a decent-looking presentation using one of the templates. There was nothing I needed these products to do that they couldn’t manage. I feel that a large majority of those Mac users in the U.S. would feel exactly the same.
The articles for this week emphasized the importance of collaboration and sharing, accessing cloud resources, and being able to give and receive feedback (Brown & Hocutt, 2015). After looking at the iWork apps again, I found they have all those functions as well. Apple even has a website that provides resources and training on how to incorporate Apple products and software into various grade levels from K-12 to postsecondary.
I’ve heard that many education institutions provide Apple products to all of their students and faculty. This means there are no compatibility issues, and everyone is using the same hardware. If the hardware is so highly respected and widely distributed, why isn’t the software more popular? I don’t have an answer to this question, but the internet has the full spectrum of opinions on this topic if you wish to try and find it for yourself.
https://enlyft.com/tech/products/apple-iwork
https://www.apple.com/education/
Brown, M. E., & Hocutt, D. L. (2015). "Learning to Use, Useful for Learning: A Usability Study of Google Apps for Education." Journal of Usability Studies 10, no. 4: 160-81.
