Awardee: Christine Howlett
Semester of Award: Fall 2016
Materials Awarded: Acer Iconia One 10, Galaxy Tab A (2), Galaxy Tab E, Digiland DL 1026, Insignia 10.1 Flex, Ipad Air
Project Description:
Four students tried out some of the tablets. Surprisingly, I did not have enough students who wanted to use a tablet to use each one. (I will offer the tablets to another choir this fall.)
I think the project was effective. The best tablet is the iPad, no question, but the Samsung did a pretty good job as well. What I learned is that it is important to buy excellent styluses, since that was a complaint across the board.
I have included feedback from three of the students below.
Questions:
Which tablet did you use? (Brand)
How well did the tablet work during rehearsals?
What did you like about it? Dislike?
How well did the tablet work during the performance?
What did you like about it? Dislike?
How well did the stylus work?
Please compare using the tablet versus using sheet music.
Would you use the tablet again if offered?
Any other comments.
Student #1
Samsung
Very well! I loved that I didn’t have to bother with flipping pages – if I remember correctly there was one song with enormous spacing, which resulted in a lot of noise as everyone struggled to turn pages constantly. I also loved how small, light, and convenient to take to and from rehearsal.
The tablet works great during performances too. Because they’re smaller and sleeker, they don’t block my vision of you while you’re conducting, and it’s not tiring on the arms to hold up a tablet.
They stylus was pretty terrible. It’s pretty impossible to make precise markings. Using my finger helped a little bit, but it still wasn’t perfect. Still beats having to bring a pencil to rehearsal, or scrambling to find one, though.
Sheet music gave me paper cuts and was heavy. Tablet did not give me paper cuts and was not heavy. I could even take the tablet with me anywhere I went, which allowed me to get more practice in.
I would definitely use the tablet if it was offered again. In fact, can I ask to use it next year right now?
Student #2
I enjoyed using the iPad in women’s choir this past semester. It was very portable and easy to carry around to rehearsals. The backlighting was helpful in darker rooms.
The stylus was not useful. It is very hard to write/draw clearly. I’m most of the time I used my finger to mark my score.
When singing in performances I loved the fact that I could organize my music in concert order. The lightweight iPad was comfortable to hold for extended periods of time. In addition, not having to hold a heavy binder improved my posture for the performance and rehearsal.
My concern is that a web browser/access to Facebook is only a tap away. This could easily cause distractions during rehearsals and singers to stop giving their full attention to the conductor and music.
I would be happy to use an iPad or other tablet again. As a singer in multiple choirs and other musical groups, it is very nice to have all my music in a small and compact place.
Student #3
I can’t remember which tablet I received, but I think it was a Samsung?
Although I didn’t use the tablet during the concert, I used it consistently for around 3 weeks before switching back over to sheet music. What I appreciated most about the tablet was that it held all my music in a lightweight device. My arms certainly appreciated holding a tablet for 60-90 minutes rather than a binder full of music for 60-90 minutes. However, apart from that, it was pretty awkward to use. Because the device was not able to pick up finer actions very well, my in-rehearsal experience felt limited. For example, writing words was not a viable option with the tablet, which was hindering to me due to my in-rehearsal note-taking style. The stylus, in my experience, could write more precisely than my finger, but would be inconsistently detected by the screen, making it about as useful as my finger. Although it is convenient to transport, I would not use this tablet again if offered due to the lack of dexterity it can handle.
Student #4 – did not respond