Avantis puts Android tablets within reach of schools

Avantis readies Android tablets for schools with LearnPad version 3 – Chris Drage reports
LearnPad, the 10-inch interactive touch-screen tablet computer designed specifically for use in schools, continues to evolve, much to the benefit of all potential school users. It now offers a secure teacher screen and the ability to directly launch files from its fully customisable, ‘SafeStart’ student interface.

It sports a new and better graphical layout and there is an ever-expanding library of new educational content. All this adds up to a huge competitive advantage over other tablets marketed primarily for the retail market.

I profess to being a fan of tablet devices ever since I was fortunate to review one of the first Windows Tablet PCs back in 2001 – the now venerable RM Tablet (Windows 98). This enthusiasm has been reignited by the Avantis LearnPad and the thrust to providing schools with the management and content services they need to make tablets work for learning and teaching, and at a price they can afford

In version 3, the LearnPad takes the Avantis philosophy further, offering schools a device with both a secure and easy management platform, and access to content that they may already have invested in.

Management tools let schools personalise tablets for teachers and students

New to LearnPad version 3 is a secure ‘teacher’ screen. This is a password-protected ‘desktop’ that allows teachers to add their own apps, content and links, including access to system and administrative settings. The teacher screen also provides the ability to join LearnPad to ‘grouped profiles’, changing the student interface to pre-configured layouts created using the online management portal.

Another really useful new feature is the ability to add ‘shortcut’ links to files and documents directly on the launcher screen itself. Unlike standard Android tablets or the iPad, students can open, edit and save document files or launch content such as videos, music, pdfs, eBooks or any other supported file types, right from the SafeStart interface itself.

LearnPad associates file types with specific applications, so pressing on a file will open it in the relevant application automatically. Arguably one of LearnPad’s most useful new features is the ability to completely customise the student user interface, creating your own categories and adding your own backgrounds, images and icons.

learnpad screen Teachers can use the online portal to build their own device layouts and categories, creating unique profiles. This flexibility allows LearnPad to be configured for different user scenarios, such as layouts for individual students or custom profiles for an entire department, subject or even topic.

When pupils switch on their LearnPads, they immediately arrive in the LearnPad’s SafeStart environment. SafeStart is an intuitive, secure and customisable graphical user interface for pupils. It is at the heart of LearnPad system and in many ways echoes the RM ‘Window Box’ of the past.

It provides the ability for teachers or network managers to control which applications, content, websites and documents students can access. SafeStart replaces the traditional Android ‘desktop’ and provides a more intuitive, easier-to-use way for students to access the content they need. This interface also allows ‘shortcuts’ to documents or individual files to be created, a function not currently supported in other tablet devices.

This enables students to launch any type of content straight from the interface, rather than launching each application and having to browse for files to ‘open’. SafeStart can be managed either ‘on device’ or via the cloud-based LearnPad content and management system, which allows grouped profiles to be created and applied to any number of LearnPad devices simultaneously.

Access to sound educational content is an all-important reason for using tablets in schools, and the LearnPad now includes new foundation and key stage 1-2 content from recognised educational publishers including Sherston, Yellow Door, NGfl Cymru and eChalk. For secondary and HE/FE students, LearnPad provides access to office documents via Quickoffice Pro, supporting Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Custom SEN content, including cause and effect, reactions and timing and a a speech application for non-verbal children, is now available on the LearnPad. However, for me, the most significant development is the new online content and management portal.

'Group profiles' can be used for classes, years or key stages

One of the key aspects of the management portal is the ability to create LearnPad ‘group’ profiles. These profiles store all of the configurations, applications, content, files, documents and website links that will be applied to the LearnPads when they join the group. Any number of group profiles can be created, allowing teachers to create custom configurations for different classes, years, key stages or even individuals. The profiles are stored securely in the cloud portal and applied automatically to LearnPad once they are joined to that group – very slick!

Using the portal, teachers or network administrators can effectively create ‘backups’ of the devices' content and configuration. Each profile stored online is in essence a complete copy of the device's content and layout, essentially a ‘cloud image’ of the device. This provides a simple and efficient way to add new LearnPads to the group and have them configured the same way automatically, or to restore a LearnPad to a specific group configuration.

LearnPad SEN Network managers can deploy and automatically install new applications to any grouped LearnPad. This makes adding new content to multiple devices an extremely simple task, negating the need to manually install it on each device. System applications can be updated by a simple click of a button and new content added to a group profile will automatically be deployed when the LearnPad checks into its group profile. This can be set to occur on a scheduled basis.

The portal also provides a secure repository for both applications and content, allowing storage of class timetables, reference material, images, ebooks, videos, music files, document or any type of supported content in the cloud. Using the group profiling, content can be automatically downloaded to each LearnPad within the group.

LearnPad is easy to use, reliable and has an eight-hour active battery life. It can be secured to desks with the optional desk mounts or moved between classrooms and stored in portable charging trolleys. As the LearnPad powers on in seconds, pupils can start activities straight away. It is the only tablet device designed specifically for schools and school networks, supporting Flash content and websites (Purple Mash, Espresso, Education City etc.).

With its centralised management and unrestricted content delivery, group profiles and cloud storage, configurable, customisable and secure user interface it ‘ticks’ all the right boxes for effective management in schools. When you add to this list the secure, integrated web browser (for use away from a school's ‘filtered‘ network), the pedagogically structured pre-loaded content (for use with or without a network connection) and USB connectivity for keyboards and other devices, the only question remaining is “how much…?”

The short answer is: at much lower cost than other comparable systems. That would clinch it for me. And the really good news for schools is that this Avantis management technology could be adapted for whatever Android tablet a school would like to use, not just the LearnPad (see also "Asus pushes Android envelope with Eee Transformer").

Ratings (out of 5)
Fitness for purpose   5
Ease of use               5
Features                   5
Quality                      5
Value for money       5

LearnPad (version 3)

Android Tablet device with a range of pre installed content, one year’s support and maintenance for the device as well as one year’s subscription to Avantis' cloud-based content and management system, £295 ex VAT. Bulk purchases possible, eg 20 LearnPads with protective cases, content packs and charging trolley for £6,999
Optional accessories: LearnPad Perspex desk mount £20; LearnPad protective folio wallet £25; LearnPad docking station £45.
Avantis LearnPad
LearnPad fact sheet

Chris Drage, a former teacher, is a consultant and journalist covering learning with ICT. You can contact him by email - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

As the e-learning co-ordinator for an FE/HE college I was intrigued to find an alternative to the 'fruit-based' tablets that were dominating the market and many educational discussions, (I must admit at this point that I had possessed an iPad since it's UK launch and had trialled several other Android tablets, albeit briefly).
We purchased 20+ tablets in June and distributed some of them to targeted staff of all experience levels to ascertain their integration across teaching & non-teaching areas of the college. Many of these staff were not highly technically minded, nearly all had no experiences of tablet computing. Initial feedback was mixed, mostly around the issues of 'What could we use it for?'.
Little implementation was made at the end of the college year as we entered the summer break. Fast forward to the start of the new academic year and the Learnpads are in high demand across teaching and learning. They are situated in our e-learning resource room in our Learning Resource Centre, this positioning and relationship is key to our policy of integrated learning approaches to facilitate better student experiences.
The recent launch of the content management portal will allow us to tailor the appearance and materials on the units swiftly and efficiently, a vital aspect of our intended strategy for personalised learning. It's early days and we haven't as yet devoted enough time to really examining how the flexibility that the Learnpads afford us can be best leveraged into tangible outcomes that we can express as a return on investment or some other KPI. What I am sure of at this point in time is that as someone seeking solutions to a myriad issues around facilitating effective learning and assessment in a time of budgetary restraint, the Learnpad approach provides us with options to resolve those issues within budget and with a level of support that I'm sure we would not receive from any of the larger players in the market.

As a network manager, access to the portal system is worth the money on its own. It builds in a level of flexibility and ease of use almost unheard of in this field. The tablets are well made and intuitive to use as is the front end which is totally customisable to your needs. We have watched the software developing on a weekly basis since we have bought our LearnPads and it is aimed squarely at UK schools. On top of that the staff at Avantis have worked very closely with us and are very keen to listen to users' needs and work towards making the products as effective and as easy to use as possible.

LearnPad has been designed as a tool to effectively deliver eLearning resources and content, and to support the many different needs of schools, teachers, ICT co-ordinators, network managers and students, from reception age through HE/FE. For many schools, deploying any consumer tablets presents a number of issues, from securing, configuring, managing and updating multiple devices, to controlling the way in which the resources are presented and how to deliver exciting new native applications remotely. A reception child’s needs vary dramatically from that of a year 12 student, as do those of SEN children. With LearnPad we have created a system that allows schools complete flexibility in the way they wish to deliver eLearning resources and have made this process as simple as possible, to maximise the time spent teaching and to reduce the overheads of managing ICT in schools, helping reduce the TCO of the technology. The LearnPad interface allows schools to present a more suitable way for students to access resources and to keep them focused on the activities presented. Delivering and managing content locally on the device enables student's to access resources and content at home, even the estimated 1 million children without home broadband connectivity. For those that do have connectivity at home, the secure browser limits access to approved sites only, ensuring the child and device stays protected outside of the filtered school network. With LearnPad we have created a system that provides varying degrees of control, based on each school's needs or requirements, and this can indeed be utilised on any existing or future Android device, including student's smartphones. For those schools with well deployed VLE/MLE content and resources, LearnPad is a low-cost, high-performance tablet to support this, including Flash content. For others, curriculum aligned content is pre-installed and can be delivered remotely from the cloud management system, along with child or group-specific configurations, system and OS updates and exciting new Android developed content. We know 'one size' never fits all, so we aimed to provide flexibility and simplicity and let schools decide how best to implement it.

I presume Avantis wants to give schools complete control over their Android tablets, whether they want to personallise them for each learner with the appropriate software and content they need, or organise class, year or key stage sets for particular work or projects. I also expect they want to offer schools alternative ways in which to distribute their content sevices like Espresso. It seems that they are trying to open up organisational choices for schools, and I'd expect them to focus those on what school customers actually want to do with their tablets, whether that's with Google Docs or anything else, and which version of Android they want too. Alternative tablets? They are starting to come through. New AT100 from Tosh, for example, gives full USB (original and mini) and HDMI. It's my understanding that you could use the Avantis tools with whatever tablet you want. Hopefully, Avantis will post a reply for you.

Maybe I've missed the point but why all the additional tools on top of the School's existing wireless network and its MLE? Have they over egged the pudding? Looking for a robust affordable Android tablet to trial but just want to connect up and use what we've got. (And we are based around Google Docs as well!) Plus its version of Android is past it!

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