Common Myth #3

Common Myth #3: Everyone will have to learn Windows later anyway so why bother with Apple.

I have heard some question why bother to learn Apple if students have to learn Windows anyways. First, I personally believe students adapt much easier to adults to multiple platforms. Their learning curve is shorter and easier than ingrained adults. If a switch is necessary at a later time, the skills and abilities they have learned are not lost and will be transferred to new learning platforms. In that regard, it isn't a waste. Their exposure to multiple platforms diversifies their experience and widens their perspective.

However, I do not believe a switch is necessary for our students matriculating to universities. Most major universities support both Windows and Apple platforms. They have computer labs of both and their university networks are designed to integrate with both. To say that a student must change over to a Windows PC when they go to college is just untrue.

When surveyed in the fall of 2008, approximately 50% of students that intended to purchase a laptop within the next year planned to purchase an Apple. 1 out of 3 students (or actually higher in some cases) at schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Duke have Apples.

As I have recently traveled in airports, I see more and more business people with Apple laptops. To say that a switch over to Windows is inevitable is not accurate nor does it ring true with the data from universities. Regardless, the skills learned should prepare students to use technology as a tool that benefits their learning on any platform.