iPad - surfing and studying

[Worley]

Hi,
my parents have asked to buy ds1 (13) an iPad. he is keen but has a few questions.. the nearest apple store is about 45 miles away so hoping someone here can help me out first..

1 - can he play his full version of minecraft on the iPad? he uses a notebook at moment which is very old and slowly dieing hence needing new computer.. but he is concerned he can't use iPad for minecraft.

2 - (my query) he needs to be able to do some home work on it. I've seen a keyboard accessory, I there a word program he can use to write up homework on? this is my part if the deal.. he can have it if he can do this on otherwise he needs a proper laptop/pc.

is it more of a games / surfing console than being suitable for studying with?

thankyou

anyone know about this at all please?

I'll get back to you later, DS got iPad for 13th. He plays minecraft on there a lot. The only M/Craft thing he can't do is go on friends' servers (maybe).

I think with keyboard they can do study but we didn't get it for that reason for DS so I can't comment how useful it is.

Get your hands on it first & set RESTRICTIONS passcode yourself. Hide Safari & get a reasonable filtering iPad-app browser on, like K9. DS has downloaded a special YOUTUBE player & you're reminding me I need to check it for content filtering (he says it's a 12+ one). Do NOT rely on OpenDNS website to do the content filtering for your household.

Of hd wants to do homework and you'd need to print you will need an app to send it to your printer that I cant remember the name of, there are special printers too.

No idea about minecraft, sorry. We have 2 and my kids love them but don't use for educational purposes.

Sorry for typos if he it was supposed to say.

Depends what homework he had to do., I'd say it isn't ideal.

Dd2 uses mine (old one) and making pages if info is ready. But she has to use publisher got some stuff on the PC.there may be an equivalent program? Also on line home work doesn't work.no flash and lots of work sheet things seen to need this.

Just seen it mentioned below...ds also had to use dream weaver and I don't think that'd work.ds also uses note flyte and sibelius for music

There is an office app which has word, excel and I think PowerPoint. It is very basic but he would be able to write an essay etc on it. I tend to then email to my PC to print but you can get printers that are iPad compatible (wireless), or you can use something like Evernote which holds your documents centrally.

There's a cut-down version of minecraft for the iPad but it's really quite limited compared to the full version. Similarly, there are office-type applications for the iPad but they're limited compared to a full system and it would be a real faff to, eg, copy a presentation off of the iPad onto a memory stick to take into school.

You also need to consider how homework is often done - a web browser with multiple different tabs for Wikipedia and clip-art etc, Microsoft Word or Powerpoint also open for the actual homework production, maybe a calculator open, and your DC flicking from one to the other as required. PCs (and Macs) deal well with that kind of work pattern. iPads and other tablets don't, as you can only see a single app at a time.

For his needs I honestly think he'd do better with a proper laptop.

I agree with Snorbs.
The iPad doesn't replace a computer unless you're a very light user. A laptop is a much better choice for a young student.

thank you all..
I think probably a laptop is way to go. he's started his GCSE'S This year so will be a lot of use, which was my concern. his school is brand new an the computer suite is all mac so maybe one of those.
apparently he does play on his friends servers so that will be him put off then becuse of minecraft.